A highly superior memory: One of Lynne Malcolm's favourite programsA highly superior memory: One of Lynne Malcolm's favourite programs
All In The Mind
If you were given a date from the last five years could you say what day of the week it was? One young woman in Australia can remember every single day of her life since she was born. We hear about her life and the research she’s involved with—as a single participant.
29:05•3 Jan 2021
Living With a Highly Superior Memory: Becky Sharrock’s Unforgettable Life
Episode Overview
- Becky Sharrock can recall personal events from every day of her life, starting from early infancy.
- Her memories are intensely emotional, allowing her to re-feel sadness, happiness, physical pain and even tastes.
- Researchers, led by Gail Robinson, are studying HSAM in connection with obsessive compulsive features and high anxiety.
- Cognitive testing suggests Becky’s exceptional memory is specific to autobiographical events rather than general intelligence or attention.
- Insights from Becky’s rich memory narratives may inform reminiscence-based strategies to support people living with dementia.
“Emotions attached to memories, that’s what makes them most difficult because the memory itself is just a file you go over.”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? Here, the focus shifts from substance use to the mechanics of memory itself, and it’s every bit as gripping. This replay from 2018 is one of Lynne Malcolm’s favourites from **All In The Mind**, the ABC RN show that looks into the mind, brain and behaviour.
You’ll meet Becky Sharrock, an Australian woman who remembers every single day of her life, right back to being 12 days old on a sheepskin car seat. She recalls, “It was the 23rd of December 1989 when I was 12 days old… I was just looking up at the camera wondering what it was.” Becky has highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) and she’s the single participant in Australian research led by Associate Professor Gail Robinson.
The episode blends vivid storytelling with careful science. Becky casually rattles off dates and events — like the day she learned Steve Irwin had died — and quotes whole passages of Harry Potter, chapter and book number included.
Yet this extraordinary ability comes with real cost: she re-feels emotions, physical pain, and even flavours, saying, “With negative memories I don’t like reliving them because… I relive depression.” Gail Robinson explains how HSAM might connect to conditions like obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety, and why studying Becky’s memory could help shape better approaches to dementia care through richer reminiscing. Importantly, Becky stresses that remembering isn’t an obsession; her brain simply doesn’t switch off.
For anyone curious about how memory, emotion and mental health intersect — including people rebuilding life after addiction and those who support them — this episode offers a different angle on how powerful, persistent memories can both lift and weigh you down. Becky eventually decides her memory is “half a blessing, half a curse”. How do your own memories shape the story you’re living today?
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