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Two observations of episodic memory deficit, one acquired at adulthood and the other at birth, are reported in this article. At the age of 30, A.D. underwent a ventriculocisternotomy, which damaged his fornix, while P.C. suffered from anoxia at birth following a diaphragm operation, resulting in bilateral alterations to the temporal lobe region of his brain. Regardless of their cognitive functions, they both have impaired episodic memory, attested as much by their behavior in everyday life as by their results in neuropsychological assessments. In contrast, semantic memory developed normally during P.C.’s childhood and became enriched in A.D.’s adult life despite a total failure of episodic memory. The other cognitive domains are preserved and even supra-normal in P.C. We describe the management of these patients, the material and human aids provided to maintain autonomy in daily life in the adult, and to develop autonomy in the child. Concepts related to specific learning methods in P.C. are described and their limitations are discussed. Finally, given the specific impairment of episodic memory, we question the ability of an amnesic child to develop self-representation and of an adult to maintain the sense of self-acquired before the onset of amnesia. The two cases are discussed with reference to the current theories of episodic memory.