Still Alice

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Fiction/Literature

Alice Howland is a 50 year old Harvard professor with three grown children. She has begun to notice some forgetfulness but becomes alarmed when she goes out for her customary run and gets lost. This must be more than menopausal symptoms. It is. A diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimers is devastating.

The reader follows Alice through her increasing fogginess and confusion. Her family deals with the disease in varying ways.

I found it very difficult to read this book as my mother had Alzheimers. Every test that Alice took, I took and failed. Every single thing I forgot got blown out of proportion. Several of the earlier things that Alice forgot were things that had happened to my mom that the family put down to busyness and forgetfulness. To read the book as through Alice's eyes gave me an insight into my mother's problems. Like Lydia, I took charge and could relate to her. I had a hard time with how John, her husband dealt with the disease. It seemed to me to be selfish and not very caring. A fascinating book from the eyes of an Alzheimer patient.

First Line: "Alice sat at her desk in their bedroom distracted by the sounds of John racing through each of the rooms on the first floor."

Rating:
(4.0/5)