Woman who’s part of 0.00001% of world that remembers every moment of her life explains what extremely rare condition is like
ArchiveFirst published June 29, 2025. It may not reflect later developments.
Rebecca Sharrock and Emily Nash are among the few people in the world with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), a condition that allows them to remember nearly every day of their lives in vivid detail.
Speaking to 60 Minutes Australia, Emily described her brain as “organized like a calendar,” where she can mentally rewind or fast-forward to specific dates. She even remembers learning to walk as a baby, saying, “I think I even learned those two things the same day.”
Rebecca, diagnosed with HSAM in 2013, says she remembers about “95 percent” of her life. While it sounds incredible, she describes the experience as emotionally draining. “I get many distractions from random flashbacks all day and all night,” she shared.
The downside of such memory is reliving pain and stress as if it just happened. “If I’m remembering something from when I was three, my emotional response is like a three-year-old’s,” Rebecca explained. She added that being a “medical exception” feels isolating, as few people truly understand the impact of living with such a powerful memory.
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