<img src="https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&amp;c2=6035250&amp;cv=2.0&amp;cj=1&amp;cs_ucfr=0&amp;comscorekw=Life+and+style%2CPsychology"> Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
Experience: I remember every day of my life
'It doesn't have to be an extraordinary day to be memorable.' Photograph: David Nevala/Twentytwentyagency.com
'It doesn't have to be an extraordinary day to be memorable.' Photograph: David Nevala/Twentytwentyagency.com

Experience: I remember every day of my life

This article is more than 12 years old
'If you throw any date at me, I can tell you what happened'

I can pick a date from the past 53 years and know instantly where I was, what happened in the news and even the day of the week. I've been able to do this since I was four. It's not a memory trick and I don't rely on mnemonics; I can just remember things from 10 years ago as easily as recalling what I had for breakfast.

As a child, I never realised it was unusual to be able to remember everything in my life with pinpoint accuracy – I thought everyone could do it. I first remember linking a date with a memory on my fourth birthday. After that, if I wanted to remember what day something happened on, I would visualise a calendar of that year and literally check it in my mind's eye. I was considered smart – I could read by the age of two – but there weren't any gifted and talented programmes back in the 60s, so I just had a normal school career.

After graduating, I became a news presenter at a radio station and my perfect memory came in handy for interviewing people or researching segments. I was also pretty hard to beat at Trivial Pursuit, but that was as far as it went.

Then, five years ago, my brother Eric read about a research project looking into memory, led by professor of neurobiology Dr James McGaugh at the University of California. After extensive tests and MRI scans, I was one of the first people in the world to be diagnosed with highly superior autobiographical memory syndrome (HSAMS) or hyperthymesia.

Since then, 20 people with HSAMS have been identified. One theory to explain my memory is I have a better retrieval system – everyone has their memories stored away; I am simply more efficient at recalling them.

I never feel overwhelmed with the amount of information my brain absorbs. My mind seems to be able to cope and the information is stored away neatly. When I think of a sad memory, I do what everybody does – try to put it to one side. I don't think it's harder for me just because my memory is clearer. Powerful memory doesn't make my emotions any more acute or vivid. I can recall the day my grandfather died – 29 April 1968 – and the sadness I felt when we went to the hospital the day before. I also remember that the musical Hair opened on Broadway on the same day – they both just pop into my mind in the same way.

It doesn't have to be an extraordinary day to be memorable. Most people can remember what they were doing on 9/11, but every day is like 9/11 for me. I once played a memory game with my brother during a car journey, and 23 years later I can still remember the words: fish, book, cheese, duck…

If you throw any date at me, say, 26 December 1962, I can tell you what happened. We were at my grandparents' farm and I remember how cold the tiled floor felt underfoot. I know that my grandma had put out frosted flakes for breakfast and I can still smell the wood-burning stove.

Having this skill has made me feel special and proud, too. I even have a special slot on a radio show called Beat Brad, in which listeners call in to test me.

Now people know about my memory, they often want to find out what was happening on the day of their birth. Sometimes the day in question won't have been particularly remarkable, so I won't have anything to say, but I can quickly follow up with some trivia from the preceding or following day.

Some people can become annoyed, as in, "There goes Brad again, showing off his brain", and I'm careful not to get into arguments because I am always right, which isn't exactly endearing. When people get a fact wrong, I try to suppress the impulse to correct them.

I don't have perfect general knowledge, though. I'm best at facts that relate to my life or that I've read about in the news. I can be caught out by a question that doesn't interest me.

Now that I'm associated with this ability, I do worry that my memory is not as good as it was – maybe it's age or maybe I'm becoming lazy about exercising it. Wouldn't it be tragic to go from "the human Google" to "the man who can't remember anything"?

Despite my amazing memory, I still lose my keys – the difference with me is I can remember the date I lost them.

As told to Emily Cunningham

Do you have an experience to share? Email experience@theguardian.com

Most viewed

Most viewed