Marilu Henner Memory Goes Back 60 Years With Perfect Accuracy
Actress Marilu Henner has a memory many would envy; she has been diagnosed with Highly-Superior Autobiographical Memory, which is the memory to remember every day as if it happened only yesterday. The 60-year-old has written a new book in order to help others increase their own brainpower and memory capacity.
"Total Memory Makeover" features the story of what Henner calls her "super memory," which allows her to remember any time in her life almost instantly. For example, "It was June 4 of 1978," she writes. "It was a Sunday and I found out at the 'Grease' premiere party" [that she won the part of Elaine Nardo on "Taxi"].
"'Taxi' is so vivid to my mind. The very first rehearsal was July the 5th of 1978. That was a Wednesday, and our first show was shot the 14th, a Friday," she wrote. For Henner, this is normal. She is able to rattle off dates both significant and not and says they are like "mini-movies" playing in her mind.
It's ironic that Henner has such a good memory, given that her short-term memory was impaired after a car accident in 2001.
"It's that defense against meaninglessness," she added. "I'm not just occupying time. There's some significance to what I'm doing and how I'm living my life."
In her new book, Henner offers readers advice on how to unlock repressed memories, recall memories faster, understand four types of memory retrieval, and turn newfound memories into a treasure map to the future.
A 2006 article in the journal "Neurocase" describes hyperthymesia (HSMA) as having two main features.
"The person spends an abnormally large amount of time thinking about his or her personal past, and the person has an extraordinary capacity to recall specific events from his or her personal past," read the article.
That article was written by Elizabeth Parker, Larry Cahill, Dr. Paul Tejera, and James McGaugh and described the case of AJ, "a woman whose remembering dominates her life."
The fascination with memory is not new and has been thoroughly researched. CBS recently aired a show called "Unforgettable," in which the lead character was diagnosed with hyperthymesia and used it to help solve crimes.
