Still Alice

Such an amazing book, It left me screaming out NO after it was over, i wanted to know more

***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Still Alice is exactly what I came to expect when I picked up Lisa Genova's debut novel, which was released in 2008. The main character, Alice, is a 50-year-old professor at Harvard. Organized, efficient, highly-educated, smart, and sharp, she never thought in her wildest dreams that someone like her could be diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers. Just like with Genova's second novel, Left Neglected, Still Alice is written in great detail-Genova obviously does her research quite carefully (and being a neurologist-turned-writer, I would expect no less).

Still Alice doesn't rush itself-the diagnoses of Alice comes after she notices changes in her memory and starts having symptoms she attributes to monopause. At first, Alice's memory lapses are the same kind that anyone could have-forgetting a certain word, misplacing items, not recognizing cues on her to-do list. But as the months go by, the symptoms get more and more severe.

I really appreciate how Genova wrote Still Alice by having each chapter outline a month in Alice's life, so the reader can see how quickly the disease progressed. It's disconcerting to think that within just a year (the book span is a mere 2 years), Alice's symptoms advanced as much as they did. One of the most notable parts of the novel, in my mind, that showcased the symptoms Alice was put up against was when Alice was preparing for a class she taught regularly. Rushing off to class, telling herself that they can't start with her, she enters the room with the mindset that she's a student-waiting the encouraged 20 minutes before leaving the class with the rest of her students because the professor-Alice-did not show up.

Another part that really hit home for me was when Alice and her husband are at their cottage for the summer. John, her husband, has been asked to run with Alice, since she could get disoriented and not know where she is or where she should be going. John asks her if she's ready to go for a run, Alice goes in for a fleece, sees a book on the nightstand, grabs it, and proceeds to go to the porch to read. When John asks if they're going for a run, she says she needs to use the bathroom first. John goes to wait outside and Alice gets disoriented in her own house and can't find the bathroom in time.

One of the things Alice is disappointed about is that soon she won't be able to read-even trying to comprehend a simple conversation is difficult at times-and there are so many books she wants to devour! Reading this made me sad-I can't even fathom what it would be like to lose the ability to read, to lose the ability to put words and sentences together.

The fact that Alzheimers snuck up on Alice so early in life-a disease that usually attacks in the 60th or 70th years-really made me think, as a reader. Leaving the novel, you'll want to devour all the books that have been sitting, neglected, on your nightstand. You'll want to do things that have been sitting, undone, on your to-do list. Those things you've always dreamed of doing? Travel, bungee jumping, taking that art class, or learning to ski-you'll want to do that after reading Still Alice because you'll realize that life is too short to be wasted.

"My yesterdays are disappearing, and my tomorrows are uncertain, so what do I live for? I live for each day. I live in the moment. I will forget today, but that doesn't mean today didn't matter."

Genova crafted a beautiful novel. The characters are flesh and blood-you could imagine them being in the same room as you while you read. As I reader, I sympathized with Alice when she had a memory lapse and repeated herself or expressed forgetfulness in front of someone who's never seen it happen (e.g. asking the same question within minutes at a seminar, having no recollection of previously asking it).

I've never known anyone who was diagnosed with Alzheimers, but seeing reactions of Alice's colleagues, family, and friends, I understand how they would act how they did. One can only hope that reading Still Alice will make readers more compassionate towards people who have been thrust into a heartless disintegration.

Lisa Genova is a force to be reckoned with. I look forward to reading her next novel and will continue sharing her first two works with everyone I know. A highly recommended author.

Not many books keep my attention throughout but this is an exception.

Splendid book! I cried....a lot. (It brought back memories of friends and family members) but I also laughed which was a great balance. I had my reservations at first but I'm happy to have read it - I feel more informed and aware.

I enjoyed seeing her relationship with Lydia, as a result of the Alzheimer's disease, strengthen.

I read that when writing this book she did not want to "overdramatize, or romanticize this disease, yet not minimize it either" and I feel she accomplished that with this novel.

Not an easy read since my mom is, in some respect Alice. Would recommend this story to anyone. A book I plan to share.

I have no words to describe how great this book is. It was touching, amazing, outstanding, excellent, fabulous and anything awesome you can think of. I have never cried as much as I did while reading this book. I love the way the author writes, it literally gives you a sense of the deterioration Alzeihmer's has on someone's mind. You could read the progress of the disease and the toll it was having on Alice. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It has changed my life and my outlook and I'm sure it will yours too!

Great book. I learned so much about this awful disease called Alzheimers. Very sad what it can do to a person. The story was very well told, and I would recommend it. I actually am making my mother in law read it. I think she'll love it. : )

I laughed and I cried when I read this book. As someone who has witnessed this disease and seen it rob my grandmother or her memories. I want to scream and tell the world to read this book. It will break your heart over and over again and you will pray to God that you wont learn first hand what Alice and her family went through. Do yourself a favour and read this, for all the Alices out there and to come.

One of the best books I've read in years. I also enjoyed learning so much about the disease.

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.

Enjoyed it so much. My hubby took the book away when I was sobbing out loud 3/4 of the way through the book. I needed to steel it back to finish it. :)

Please read this book. It is an amazing journey through the eyes of an alzheimers patient. It will make you laugh, cry and you will find yourself asking why? For all the Alices' out there, we hear you and we will never forget you....

Absolutely a riveting read on a very sad topic - Alzheimer's Disease . Very well written and it keeps your interest - read it over a weekend . Delves into the mind of an early Alzheimer's
sufferer , a place we could never imagine before .A must read for everyone .

An amazing read that I found almost impossible to put down. It is well written and and I found it incredibly easy to fall in love with the character. It captures you from start to finish.

A MUST READ!! Lisa Genova is an Amazing author! Thank you for this book. You know you love a book when you get towards the end and you try not to read too many pages at once, or you'll finish too soon. I'm still worried about Alice.....

My father has Alzheimer's and he is often living in his past. He has a teddy bear that he likes to play with and I am unsure if he knows who I am. Being of a medical background none of his progression in his disease has surprised me, but it has saddened me.

Reading "Still Alice" by Lisa Genova did bring tears to my eyes and yes I could relate to Alice's family and how they dealt with her Alzheimer's. I was also able to better understand my father and what he has gone through. What a devastating disease for both the bearer of the disease and for the family. To lose one's memory of language skills is unfathomable and to lose the ability to love someone is heartbreaking and to lose the ability to recognize your family is devastating.

I found the book a bit too simple for my tastes, but I am the type of person who likes to know everything and with a science background and a medical background I found the books description of the drugs used to treat Alzheimer's and the description of the disease itself just too simplistic. I also found there was not enough history about the family; I would have liked to have known more about everyone including Alice.

Some parts of the book seemed cheesy, like the description of Alice's daughter Anna and her reaction to her sister Lydia not going to university and how it pleased her that Lydia was on the outs with Alice; it seemed like a middle school fiction book of sister rivalry. The book could use more depth and character and a bit more growth.

I loved this book! Very good eye into alzheimers and understanding the effects it has on not only the family but even the individual with the disease. Heartbreaking, but a very good raw book.

This book was amazing. It's a book that you can't put down until you have finish. A really great read. Recommed it to anyone

I absolutely loved this novel. I read it many months ago, but for me, the true test of a novel is when you can look back and think "that one stood out".

I could not put this book down. The story is so sad, yet the journey is so interesting. You can really feel the triumphs and the failures that the characters experience. I can't really say much mroe about. It's a masterpiece, and I would suggest it to anyone.

The only thing that was difficult for me was all the doctor-terminology. But that's just because it was beyond my reading level, possibly. But some parts I felt were hard to read because of all the words that I didn't know... Doctor terminology, like I said.

The characters are great and the story progresses at a believable rate. An excellent choice for any reader.

This book is so beautifully written you don't want to put it down even though you're about to cry. It is a very honest portrayal of someone with Alzheimer's and since it's written from Alice's point of view it's helpful to understand the feelings that a loved one would be experiencing.