A bit heavy handed at times, but gripping and wrenching. ( )

what an amazing story. Alice. John. It's the story of the life they have together and the life that Alice is losing every day. And it's so hard to read. And yet, she feels joy with all of her little moments of happiness and her loneliness and despair are a little removed as she skips over her memories and days.

Alzheimer's is a very tough topic to cover. Many of us don't know much about it other than the most basic understanding. Those that do know, I'm sure, know more than they'd like to, because they have to.

This book bridges that gap of the unknowers to bring them over to, at least, hold a nugget of empathy for those that have been forced to know the effects of Alzheimers.

truly, a book that opens your eyes. ( )

An "insider's" look at Alzheimer's disease, not from a caregiver but from someone diagnosed with the disease. Powerful and sad but never melodramatic. My father has been diagnosed with this disease, although not early-onset like Alice, and he plans to read the book for a book discussion group to which he belongs. It will be interesting to talk about it with him. ( )

Still Alice by Lisa Genova is a beautifully written, heartbreaking novel about the devastating affect Alzheimer's has on its victims and their families.

I wanted to read this novel for a long time and had nominated it at local book club but now after reading it I am glad it was never chosen as I really think this is a book you personally choose to read because of the difficult subject matter, and the fact that so many people have family members who suffer from Alzheimer's may find this a very difficult read. I certainly found it an insightful novel but very sad and I did cry while reading it.

This Novel is well written and the plot well thought out especially in the author's choice of Alice a young, healthy and accomplished Psychiatry Professor at Harvard - which shows that Alzheimer's can strike those other than the elderly.,

The book is written from Alice's viewpoint which in itself is a remarkable read but it also conveys the struggle that Alice’s family must learn to understand and live with as well.

Genova really does an excellent job of describing the devastating changes that takes place in Alice’s mind as the disease progresses. I have to admit I found this difficult reading as you know this is not a book where there can be a happy ending.

This is very well written book but a very difficult read. ( )

Emotional Read

An amazing, well written story. She did a good job with helping the reader understand the different reactions to the disease. I almost felt like the author was Alice Howland. ( )

I like how Lisa Genova depicted the responses of the various family members to Alice's illness. Her husband may seem indifferent and callous at times but I can understand how hard it is for him to witness a loved one deteriorating away. The way the relationship between Alice and Lydia turned out is almost cliche but heartwarming nonetheless. Anna could end up bearing the brunt of the illness but she bears no resentment towards her mother. And of course Tom, he turns up and is involved in every family occasion. This is cliche as well but something you can easily overlook. ( )

Alice Howland, tenured professor of cognitive psychology at Harvard, begins to notice some memory problems and not the typical kind for people aged 50. When her doctor eliminates some of the basic causes and wants to follow a wait and see approach, she insists on seeing a neurologist. Even so, when she finds she has early-onset Alzheimer’s she is floored. It takes several more tests and another doctor’s visit several months later before she can tell her husband and then her 3 adult children.
The amazing thing about this story is that it is told from Alice’s point of view; her reactions, her problems, her coping strategies, her view of her family’s reactions; her memory decline. It is vividly portrayed and heartbreaking. I have such a better understanding of the disease, the people who have it and the family dynamics.
I have a 91 year old mother who has memory problems, but not Alzheimer’s, and it gave me a more empathic understanding of what she may be feeling. I highly recommend this book to everyone. ( )

Book 45 of the 60 day challenge.
Still Alice.
Lisa Genova.
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.
I started to worry half way through the book that I had read it before (and ironically forgotten?) Janet Elizabeth Conway and Peter both suggested I had seen the film. As I write about each film I see I searched in my posts.... Nothing. But I just watched the trailer and yes I have seen the film. Claire O'Neill. I just need to figure out which part of my brain has given up on me?
128 days to go.
8/10 ( )

What a beautiful, awful story. ( )

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OMG, this book. The relationships, the reality of it all. It's been ages since I shed tears from a book. Such raw emotion and so well written. Please read this book. ( )

A short novel that explores alzheimers from the one suffering. A story that is complex in characters. It was both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. An excellent book that I simply did not want to finish reading. ( )

"Still Alice" is a beautifully written, heartbreaking novel about the devastating affect Alzheimer's has on its victims and their families. Author Lisa Genova's choice of Alice - young, in shape, and intelligent (she's a Psychiatry Professor at Harvard) - shows that Alzheimer's can strike anyone, not just the elderly. The book is written from Alice's viewpoint, but Genova does a good job of showing the affect of Alzheimer's not only on Alice, but how her family (John, and their children - Anna, Tom, and Lydia) struggle with the changes in Alice. Genova does an excellent job of describing what is going on in Alice's head as the dementia increases. In fact, Genova does such a good job that I sometimes forgot the book was fiction and not about a real person.

"Still Alice" takes place over a relatively short period of time (September 2002 to September 2005) and it is frightening how fast the Alzheimer's takes over Alice. Genova skillfully captures the bewilderment Alice feels and there are some moments in the book that are very moving - especially a moment involving a black rug and a moment involving a message a healthier Alice left for a sicker Alice. The reaction of Alice's family as they deal not only with her having Alzheimer's but the fact that her children may inherit the disease is very realistic. Inevitably, of course, life goes on and Genova expertly shows Alice's family as they move on with their lives, even if readers won't always agree with their actions. If I have any quibble with the book, it's that it is one chapter too long - the second to last chapter ended on a poignant note and I think Genova should have stopped the book there.

"Still Alice" is a moving tale about the devastating affect Alzheimer's can have on a family. ( )

Alice sempre foi uma mulher de certezas. Professora e pesquisadora bem-sucedida, não havia referência bibliográfica que não guardasse de cor. Alice sempre acreditou que poderia estar no controle, mas nada é para sempre. Perto dos cinqüenta anos, Alice Howland começa a esquecer. No início, coisas sem importância, até que ela se perde na volta para casa. Estresse, provavelmente, talvez a menopausa; nada que um médico não dê jeito. Mas não é o que acontece, ironicamente, a professora com a memória mais afiada de Harvard é diagnosticada com um caso precoce de mal de Alzheimer, uma doença degenerativa incurável. Poucas certezas aguardam Alice. Ela terá que se reinventar a cada dia, abrir mão do controle, aprender a se deixar cuidar e conviver com uma única certeza - a de que não será mais a mesma. Enquanto tenta aprender a lidar com as dificuldades, Alice começa a enxergar a si própria, o marido, os filhos e o mundo de forma diferente. Um sorriso, a voz, o toque, a calma que a presença de alguém transmite podem devolver uma lembrança mesmo que por instantes, e ainda que não saiba quem é.

First line:
“Even then, more than a year earlier, there were neurons in her head, not far from her ears, that were being strangled to death, too quietly for her to hear them.”

Beautifully written. Sad story, and yet really shows the triumph of the human spirit. The author obviously has first-hand experience with someone with early dementia. Comes through in the realistic way she depicts Alice coming to terms with her memory loss. ( )

I started this book not knowing what to expect but I just kept sinking in more and more. It sad and happy at the same time. It's a very good read for people of any age whether or not you're going through dementia or know someone who is. I definitely recommend. ( )

This book captured my attention from the very first page.Alice was, without a doubt,one of the most original, heroic, and compelling characters I've ever encountered in a work of fiction. ( )

compelling yet depressing. I needed an uplifting beach read on vacation, but the storytelling was phenom...otherwise sad. ( )

I rarely feel guilty giving a book a bad review, but I do at this time. I think it was a well-meaning book, but it was awfully trite, a little silly in parts, and it shied away from the harsh, bleak, abject realities facing people with dementia. Even the worst of Alice's moments are treated with a light, everything-will-be-okay sense of detachment ... the conclusion of how she's "still Alice" somehow serving as armor against deep panic and abjection.

And the incidents described are all, in fact, minor. There is one scene that deals with repetition. One scene that deals with the impulsive desire to go to a nonexistent home. We hit every common symptom/scenario once and then move on. It's written at a sixth grade level, which makes its message accessible to a broad audience, but also limits the author's ability to render emotions and experiences well.

My advice to readers, if they have someone in their lives with dementia, is to read it early. Because once you've been through the wringer with someone, this book isn't going to ring true. ( )

I read this book before my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and I read it the same way I have read other books about illness, whether fiction or memoir - with what I consider an unhealthy interest in when the next symptom will show up. I would not re-read; it's too real now. ( )

What a unique, heartbreaking story! Very well written. The book is much better than the movie. Unless you have read the book, there are parts of the movie that you go Huh? ( )

Linda recommended this book for my face to face book club, and I think it was a great recommendation. The book was written from the standpoint of Alice, a renowned professor at Harvard. Each chapter is a month in Alice's life. Unfortunately, Alice has early onset Alzheimer's disease. The book basically postulates what might go on in the mind of someone who has this disease as time passes.

To really get in Alice's mind and to stay there, all the while keeping the pace of the story moving and suspenseful, is no mean feat. Genova gets it JUST right. While it wasn't the type of book that made me want to break down crying (frankly there aren't many of those for me), it was the type where the whole time I was thinking "OH MY GOD, WHAT IF I WAS ALICE???" You really feel so much empathy for her situation.

Really, really thought this book was thought provoking, original, and in its own way, very moving. ( )

Wow. It's a good thing I had a day full of mindless activities like cleaning house and cooking yesterday, because once I started this book I didn't want to stop listening. And I listened to the entire thing in just over a 24 hour period! I can't stop thinking about it. I had wondered if I would enjoy a book written from the perspective of someone with Alzheimer's - I generally don't like books that are not straigtforward and clear. I was just along for the ride on this one, though, and it was good. So much food for thought - I need to find a book club to discuss this one! ( )

I read this book in three sessions. I highly recommend it.
I found the story, written in the first person, about the decline of an academic with Alzheimer's disease fascinating, sad and insightful.

I'm literally stunned ( )

A novel about Alice, a successful Harvard linguistics professor who, at the age of fifty, begins to show signs of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The story follows her descent into the disease and the effect it has on both her and her family. Told from her point of view, the reader gets a heartbreaking and terrifying look at what it's like to lose yourself bit by bit to this condition. Recommended. ( )