Crazy-for-Books.com: Review: Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Review: Still Alice by Lisa Genova

12:15 PM | Thoughts by Jennifer (Crazy-for-Books) |

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Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Genre: General Fiction

Trade-size Paperback

293 pages

ISBN: 978-1439102817

My Rating: 5 stars

Meets my 2010 Reading Challenges:

100+ Reading Challenge

Reading From My Shelves Project

Synopsis:

Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience from Harvard University.

Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career wen she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what's it's like to literally lose your mind...

Reminiscent of A Beautiful Mind, Ordinary People and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Still Alice packs a powerful emotional punch and marks the arrival of a strong new voice in fiction.

My Thoughts:

This is one of the most incredible books I have ever read. It is going into my top 10 all-time favorites. It is the story of 50 year old Alice Howland, a cognitive psychology professor and researcher at Harvard, who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. The story is told from Alice's perspective as she progresses through the disease. It is sad and heartbreaking, but also a beautiful story of familial relationships. We see the effect of the disease on Alice's husband and three children, the most striking of which is between her and her somewhat estranged daughter, Lydia. Once you start it, you will not be able to put it down. It is wonderfully written and highly engaging. I immediately gave the book to my sister-in-law to read (my mom is next!). I cannot rave about this book enough!! Wonderful story.