Annike: Hey guys! We’re getting so close to Christmas it is just so exciting!! I personally can’t wait and hopefully we’ll have something festive up near then, followed by the wrap up of this massive year. But before any of that I wanted to write a review on a book I just recently finished called Still Alice. Uncommonly, this book actually isn’t written for young adults but I found it so intriguing and just had to get my hands on it so here is my review.
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. A Harvard professor, she has a successful husband and three grown children. When she begins to grow forgetful, she dismisses it for as long as she can, but when she gets lost in her own neighbourhood she knows that something has gone terribly wrong.
She finds herself in the rapidly downward spiral of Alzheimer’s Disease. She is fifty years old. Suddenly she has no classes to teach, no new research to conduct, no invited lectures to give. Ever again. Unable to work, read and, increasingly, take care of herself, Alice struggles to find meaning and purpose in her everyday life as her concept of self gradually slips away. But Alice is a remarkable woman, and her family, yoked by history and DNA and love, discover more about her and about each other, in their quest to keep the Alice they know for as long as possible.
Losing her yesterdays, her short-term memory hanging on by a couple of frayed threads, she is living in the moment, living for each day. But she is still Alice.
So, when reading some other reviews on this book I saw a very similar focus in many of them and that was the impact that Still Alice had on its readers. I think that while for me the book wasn’t incredibly written – it was hard hitting and opened my eyes to what Alzheimers truly looked like and I think this is what made it the most exceptional. The story had the ability of being both terrifying and motivational at the same time and I think Lisa Genova told it amazingly well through the character of Alice.
So for a brief summary, Alice Howland is a successful lecturer at Harvard university who has managed to raise three kids, maintain a successful career and relationship with her husband. She is at the peak of her success – travelling around the world to give lectures – until early onset Alzheimers disease (EOAD) stops her in her path. The book initially looks at the process of both the diagnosed and their family in coming to terms with the illness that in this case Alice is experiencing. Then after this, it focuses on the relationships in Alice’s life and altogether her deteriorating sense of self and ability.
I really loved the character of Alice right throughout the book. The simple way that Lisa Genova chose to capture a woman who even at 50, was just thriving in all areas of her life made the diagnosis of Alzheimers so much more hard hitting in the way that the changes you could see were so evident. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see Alice making embarrassing mistakes in front of her family and friends who just didn’t know how to cope with it, due to her deteriorating brain. And the fact that she went from so solely independent to dependable made me feel for her. Alice also had 3 grown children and their involvement in the story was another great perspective. This focus on family was obviously a huge part of its success because people don’t often stop to think about those responsible for caring for people suffering from EOAD.
Still Alice is very easy to follow and understand in my opinion. It isn’t a drag to get through or anything of the sort. In fact the book isn’t too long at all and managed to teach me a lot in the process of the plot. I think there is much more to Alzheimers and early onset Alzheimers than most people are aware of and in this case, I recommend it purely so people can learn more. But more than just that, the book was particularly moving and I must say did scare me a little in imagining such a disease in myself or anyone that I know.
Overall, this book is definitely one that I recommend. I will say that it does deal with a very serious and sometimes scary topic so I would recommend it to those in their later teen years or who are adults. All the same, it is such a great book and is self published (!) which is pretty cool too. I’m definitely going to be looking to watch the movie soon. Thanks for reading guys, we’ll be back early next week with something hopefully Christmassy
