Still Alice

by Lisa Genova

Alice listened to the actor. He was an easy and dynamic speaker. He kept talking about a picaresque. “What’s a picaresque?” asked Alice. “It’s a long adventure that teaches the hero lessons.” The actor talked about his life’s adventure. He told them he was here today to pass on to them, the graduating classes, the people about to begin their own picaresques, the lessons he’d learned along his way. He gave them five: Be creative, be useful, be practical, be generous, and finish big.