Still Alice in Reading with Style

Mar 22, 2009 Elizabeth (Alaska) rated it really liked it

Alice has early onset Alzheimer's disease. The story is told from the viewpoint of Alice, who, at 50, recognizes there is something wrong much earlier in the disease than those who get it later in life. I think the author would want you to believe it is more tragic for a person to get Alzheimer's at 50 than at 70, but I was unconvinced - it is terrible at any age. Alice loses the ability to recognize objects, people, and most of what allows her to make sense of her surroundings. I was very moved ...more

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Jul 24, 2009 Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, fiction, format-print, source-library, f-general

At fifty years old, Alice is a respected cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics. Her husband is also a highly successful professor at Harvard. Their two oldest children were well-settled into their lives, while the youngest one, Lydia, didn't attend college but found herself inclined towards an acting career. Lately, however, Alice had been forgetting things, such as a word that was at the tip of her tongue but which eluded her for a long time. Soon At fifty years old, Alice is a respected cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics. Her husband is also a highly successful professor at Harvard. Their two oldest children were well-settled into their lives, while the youngest one, Lydia, didn't attend college but found herself inclined towards an acting career. Lately, however, Alice had been forgetting things, such as a word that was at the tip of her tongue but which eluded her for a long time. Soon though, she began to forget bigger and more important things - such as which topic she was to lecture about in a class in spite of spending her last hour preparing for the class, a conference she was supposed to fly to in spite of having prepared for it all day long, At one time when she was jogging, she even forgot the way to her home although she had been through that street countless times in all the years she had been there. Alice was beginning to display the symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer's.

I cannot even begin to express how much I loved this book. For a long time, I had been hesitant to read it, knowing that a box of kleenex is essential. Moreover, someone I know well succumbed to this disease last year. As I read the book, I cried a lot. For Alice, her husband her children, and for all who suffer from this disease.

What especially makes this book work is that Lisa Genova has written this fiction from Alice's viewpoint. The reader gets to see Alice actually forget people. One minute, she's addressing her daughter as Lydia, and in the next minute, she has metamorphosed into "the actress". At one point, Alice has been excited to attend Lydia's theatrical performance in her town. When the show is over, Alice doesn't recognize Lydia at all, instead she talks to her as a stranger, congratulating her on her work.

When Alice realizes that she is losing her memory, her to-do lists, which consisted of single words to indicate each task, soon transform into lengthy phrases with plenty of hints. So much of her experience feels natural and yet eerie. It is hard not to well up when once she reads an item of her list telling she has a class, and instead of heading there to teach, she goes to the class and sits as a student waiting for her teacher. When others talk of her in front of her, we get to see Alice's view of things. She does understand them, but her faculties are slow. This is very indicative of how people in general treat some one with a mental disability. The world sees them as mental failures and deems it safe to talk about them even in their presence.

Alice knew that the young woman sitting across from her was her daughter, but she had a disturbing lack of confidence in this knowledge. She knew that she had a daughter named Lydia, but when she looked at the young woman sitting across from her, knowing that she was her daughter Lydia was more academic knowledge than implicit understanding, a fact she agreed to, information she'd been given and accepted as true.

Through Alice's eyes, we see how the event takes a toll on each member of the family. Her husband, John struggles the most to accept her diagnosis. I can't say I agreed with everything he said and did, and at times I found him too selfish and insensitive, but it's not hard to see how he has been affected by the tragedy. I have seen people distance themselves away from those they love so that they are less hurting. It is a strategy we all use in life, and if the story had been from John's perspective, I might have appreciated him better. But this is Alice's story. And though she has accepted her tragedy, but John probably never came to terms with it, we still see how much Alice might love it if John just yielded.

This is one of the best books I've read, not least because it made me cry. Lisa did a great job in telling the story from Alice's perspective. This is the kind of book that makes you appreciate those who have the disease better. Still Alice is a novel that is a testament to the human spirit. It is a assertion of Alice's persona even if she no longer has any recollection of herself and her close ones. It is an indication that at the core, a person remains the same he/she always has been. ...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Bucket rated it really liked it

Shelves: psychology, literary, identity, life-and-death, reviewed, tragedy, unreliable-narrator, science, women, language

My cousin recommended this book to me as our 61-year-old aunt has early-onset Alzheimer's. For me, it was so helpful (and frightening) to experience the perspective of Alice herself, the one actually experiencing the disease. I agree with Genova that having this perspective was worth the sacrifice of the thoughts and feelings of Alice's family, as well as the lack of clarity towards the end when Alice's condition has very much deteriorated.

The book confirms what I suspected, that a person with ...more

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Oct 20, 2009 Juniper rated it really liked it

Shelves: first-books, owned

I rate this novel 4 Stars.

I received this book for Christmas 2008. Shortly into the New Year of 2009 my 69 year old father experienced some very serious health problems. In late February, 2009 he was diagnosed with an illness called 'Parkinson's Plus' ~ the lucky pluses (on top of Parkinson's disease) being Lewy Body Dementia. Needless to say I was not hugely motivated to read a book about early on-set Alzheimer's, since we were living through our own personal experience. I left the book until l I rate this novel 4 Stars.

I received this book for Christmas 2008. Shortly into the New Year of 2009 my 69 year old father experienced some very serious health problems. In late February, 2009 he was diagnosed with an illness called 'Parkinson's Plus' ~ the lucky pluses (on top of Parkinson's disease) being Lewy Body Dementia. Needless to say I was not hugely motivated to read a book about early on-set Alzheimer's, since we were living through our own personal experience. I left the book until late April 2009 when, after the urging of a good friend, I finally picked it up. I don't really know what I completely expected, but Genova's educational and career backgrounds lead me to hope for an unique perspective on going through a diagnosis like this and then deciding 'now what?'. I know I was wishing for a story that wasn't dark and dreary.

I am so glad I finally did read this Still Alice. Alice's awareness of what was happening to her was well written and I really felt as though I was in her head, going through the worry too. I sometimes wondered if that much clarity/recognition is often experienced by patients at the initial on-set of Alzheimer's, but I had no trouble allowing fictional latitude and the fact that Alice's and Genova's backgrounds allow for more awareness on a day-to-day basis. The relationship between Alice and her husband gave interesting insight and this was the only area where I wished for a bit more detail.

The book deals with a serious and sad disease but it did not bring me down and, in fact, I found it hopeful. I appreciated the way Alice took charge of things and hoped that her 'deal with it' attitude caught on with a lot of readers and encouraged people to be pro-active in their approach to health concerns.

When I finished the book I circulated it out to my family and friends.Six months later my book is still out-and-about, and the story is being appreciated by everyone who has read it. For me the book gave me a small amount of personal hope and comfort at a difficult time.

~ My reviews are, generally, never this personal, but I could think of no other way to write a review of this book. Sorry! ~

14 april 14: edited to add:
you know, this book never made it back to me. it made the rounds through a friend's workplace (in a hospital) and was read and loved by pretty much everyone in whose hands it landed. but it got very beat up in the process and eventually fell apart. ...more

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Feb 04, 2015 Sandra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2015, winter-challenge-2014-2015, goodreads-giveaways, books-i-own

I first read this book shortly after its release in 2007 as part of a reading challenge and loved it. As with Lisa Genova’s novel ‘Left Neglected’, the story of Alice has stayed with me all these years. So when I received a copy of ‘Still Alice’ through a giveaway, I was more than happy to read it again and share my thoughts of it with you in the hopes that you will pick up this book and read it too.

Alice Howland is a well respected and very successful cognitive psychology professor at Harvard. I first read this book shortly after its release in 2007 as part of a reading challenge and loved it. As with Lisa Genova’s novel ‘Left Neglected’, the story of Alice has stayed with me all these years. So when I received a copy of ‘Still Alice’ through a giveaway, I was more than happy to read it again and share my thoughts of it with you in the hopes that you will pick up this book and read it too.

Alice Howland is a well respected and very successful cognitive psychology professor at Harvard. At 50, she is happily married to John, a successful academic in his own right, and is the mother to three grown children, Anna, Tom and Lydia. After several instances of disorientation and forgetfulness, she seeks out medical help and is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Although afraid of losing her self-awareness and that which makes her ‘Alice,’ and powerless in the face of this incurable disease, Alice is determined to live life on her terms, with courage and dignity.

There are a number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, available out there that give the reader wonderful insight into the emotional and physical struggles of caregivers on the front lines, dealing day in and day out with the destruction that Alzheimer’s wields on their loved ones. Their courage and strength is admirable and I take my hat off to them. In the case of ‘Still Alice’ however, Lisa Genova has taken a different road, choosing to examine the perspective of the Alzheimer’s victim. Told entirely in Alice’s voice, using her memories and perception of her present situation, the reader has a sense of taking this journey with her.

As the novel progresses so does Alice’s dementia, and her once sharp, intelligent mind and exceptional memory become increasingly unreliable, muddled and distorted. Her frustration when she forgets a word, or can’t find her keys makes us cringe and think about that time when we couldn’t find our phone or couldn’t remember that word on the tip of our tongue. Our heart breaks for her as she slowly gives up the things she loves, like writing, reading and running, because we love these things too. We cry when she forgets the ones she loves because we can’t fathom a life in which we don’t recognise or remember our spouse or children.

Alzheimer’s disease destroys the essence of what makes us who we are: memories, knowledge, experiences, feelings and the relationships we have with friends and loved ones. This is what defines us. Through Alice’s story, Lisa Genova has brought these issues together and written a powerful novel about love, courage and the human spirit.

I absolutely recommend this wonderful novel and give it 5/5 stars.
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Apr 08, 2010 Rachel N. rated it really liked it

The story of Alice Howland who at age fifty is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease. Alice is a professor at Harvard in linguistics when she recieves the news. It was interesting reading a book written solely from the point of view of someone with Alzheimers. I think Lisa Genova does a good job of letting the reader experience Alice's confusion from the disease. The only problem I have with the book is that it made me really depressed. Alzheimers is such a horrible disease and I hope so ...more

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Feb 23, 2010 Celeste rated it it was amazing

I read this unbelievily incredible book only because of a book club in am in with my mother in law. I would have never picked up this book on my own no matter how good you guys said it was; the subject matter and the fact that you just knew it was going to be sad were two very good reason's in my book, at least not to read it. Boy, was I wrong!! This book is enlightening, beautifully written, informative, and it touchs your very soul. Thank you Lisa Genova for giving these people a voice. I woul ...more

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