Emily's doctors concluded that she had a condition called 'dissociative ffugue'. Patients wake up one day,lost. They have no promblem remembering new information, but thay've lost most of their past. There is no physical damage to the brain. For this reason, many doctors doubt these patients' stories: perhaps they are using memory loss as an excuse for starting their life again. In most cases - including Emily's - they gradually make a recovery.