Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Synopsis (from front cover): Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life — and her relationship with her family and the world — forever.
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.”
Review: Last month I was contacted about designing questions for this novel and I had not heard of it before. I did not have time before the holidays to do the questions, but decided to read it anyway because the premise of a psychology professor at Harvard writing about her experiences with Early Onset Alzheimers was too fascinating to pass up.
Well, I’m so glad I did not pass this one by! The novel begins with Alice experiencing every day life as a wife, a mother of three grown children, and as a professor at Harvard. Very quickly, however, she descends into what must have seemed like a nightmare. Her first sign that her memory loss was out -of -the ordinary was when she could not recognize her surroundings on her daily run. Imagine how frightening and disorienting this would be — then only to realize this is simply the most noticeable sign of what quickly becomes an entirely different identity and life.
The novel then becomes a fast-pased race through the next two years as Alice progressively becomes less and less like the person she was. The author has a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard – and demonstrates intimate knowledge of Alice’s life before EOA and then believeably recreates the unraveling of everything Alice used to define herself. I strongly recommend this novel — I think it would lend itself well to discussion, but is simply a great read, too.
Interested in winning a free copy? Drop me a comment!
I’m 53 and this book sounds like my nightmares!!!
I’d love to read it!
mj.coward[at]gmail.com
I’d love to be included in the giveaway. Thanks!
fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com
Please include me in the giveaway. It sounds like a good read; difficult, but good.
And, as always, thanks!
I read this book last year a loved it! I’m making my book club read it this year. I think we’ll have a fabulous discussion. Everyone I give this book to loves it. How do I get access to the questions you’re developing?
Sounds very interesting, and I love the pretty book cover. Please enter me. Thanks!
I would love to read this. Alzheimers is a frightening thought at any age, but as early as 50, I can’t even imagine. Please include me. Thank you.
I just heard about this book yesterday and would love a chance to preview it for our bookclub.
Alzheimers is a pertinent topic and your review indicates the author has handled it with sensitivity. A great book group choice; please count me in!
I’d love to have a copy of my own. I read this book last year and was deeply affected by it. Having seen several friends and family members succumb to the ravages of the disease, I was interested in reading an account of Alzheimers told through a patient’s perspective. “Still Alice” gave me many insights that I wish I’d had earlier on. Although some members were reticient, I was able to convince my book club that “Still Alice” is a must-read. We will discuss the book in September and I am planning to invite the director of our local Alzheimers Association to come out and join the discussion. Perhaps reading this work of fiction will enable us to wrestle with an issue that threatens all of us.
I’d like to read this book
This sounds like a wonderful book! Great review and thanks for the opportunity to win it!
kimberly[dot]anneloomis[at]gmail[dot]com
Please include me in this giveaway!
Thank you, as always,
Renee
This book sounds good. Would definitely give it a read.
This book sounds amazing, I would love to win it.
Alzheimer’s has a history in my family,
my mom had it for 15 years and all her
siblings have gone through it as well.
It scares me terribly as I am now in my
60′s.
I WOULD LOVE TO READ THIS AND GIVE IT ALSO TO THE BOOK CLUB I ATTEND.
This has been on my list for awhile. I would love to win a copy of it.
What a difficult subject but the critics say it is well written. I would enjoy reading it.
This sounds like a great book! Count me in!
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
I am in my 60′s (Yikes, how did this happen already?) and over the last year my mom has been failing. Recently diagnosed (after prompting of doc on my part) and medication seems to be helping her. My grandmother and aunt also had it. Scary. I happened to see this title mentioned someplace else on the web and thought that it is a book that I really would like to read, so please consider me for this giveaway.
thanks.
I would love to win and read this great book.
This sounds like a fascinating, eye-opening book. Thanks for the giveaway.
I wish I had 50 copies to give away!! I’m so glad many of you are thinking of this as a good book club choice — I agree. So much to discuss!
Melanie — Unfortunately, I did not develop questions while I was reading. I was I had now, after seeing the interest level!!
Here are the publisher’s questions:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Still-Alice/Lisa-Genova/9781439116883/reading_group_guide
What a great review – please include me in the giveaway!
I just read and reviewed this, too. Absolutely LOVED it.
I have had this book on my radar for quite awhile. I’ve also known several people who had alzheimer’s and it’s scary.
Thanks for the chance.
sharon54220@gmail.com
I heard so many good things about this book. It’s scary to think that we all might be in that situation one day. Really scary! Thanks for the chance to win.
I’d love to win a copy! Thanks for another giveaway!
If you still have copies to give away, please consider me. My mother is beginning to be forgetful and I think the more I know about what is happening, the more I can help her.
I would love to have a copy of this book. I read a borrowed copy but I would like my niece & nephews to read it. My sister-in-law has disappeared from us so quickly. She was diagnosed about 4 years ago and is totally gone (mentally) now. This book helped me feel a little of what it was like.
I would like to communicate with Nadine who invited the Director of Alzheimers organization to find out how did it go and what was the format.
Hi Devi — Here is the website for the novel. I hope this helps!
http://www.stillalice.com/
Nadine – how did the discussion of your book club go with an Alzheimer’s Society rep? Please let me know.
I have read Still Alice twice and have been asked to review it for my Book Club this coming year. My mother died from Alzheimers and it was a difficult time for me to watch her slowly decline. I read as much as I could and went to many classes to understand how to deal with her illness. Sadly, my dad would not acknowledge that she was sick.
Still Alice is hauntingly accurate as how the progression is slow but very noticeable if you are close to the patient.
If you have any suggestions about how I should approach this review, please let me. I want to personally thank you for writing a book that so accurately describes this terrible disease and the effect it has on the family’s lives.
Lacey Ellis
I will be 62 on Sunday and it is the same age that my mother showed signs of dementia. She slowly slipped through the many stages of Alzheimer’s. My father has had five sisters to die from this terrible disease and he has severe dementia. It is not Alzheimer’s and the difference if quite hard to explain but there a very real difference. Pray that you are spared from this disease and myself included.
Our book club has the most wonderful discussion with an Alzheimer’ specialist from the Alzheimer society from Toronto. She read the book also and was able to guide us in many respects.
Book clubs reading this book should also do the same – one will learn a lot.
Devi Taneja – Bookworms 2002 Bookclub.