Search - Still Alice

I read this book without any real prior information about Alzheimer's. I do not know anyone with this illness and I have never personally experienced any of the symptoms. I saw the book in the library and thought it might be interesting. Lisa Genova did an excellent job creating the main character and depicting her life from her vantage point with Alzheimer's. Even if the reader has no interest in Alzheimer's it is still an excellent read as relationships are strained as they sometimes conflict on what steps should be taken for the main character, Alice.

****Some of the reviews on this site from previous posters do give away the ending. Be very careful reading them if you would rather have the suspense. I did not read a review prior to reading the book as I normally would and it made it that more intriguing for me not knowing what would happen with the character.****

Still Alice tells the story of a 50-ish Harvard professor's struggles with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. The reader witnesses her decline: from more frequent moments of forgetfulness to bad days with still some good days and finally the late stages, in which Alice rarely recognizes the people in her life. Although Still Alice is a very sad story in many ways, Genova tells it with humor, compassion, and warmth.

Still Alice is a quick and very engrossing read. It personalizes the sad decline an Alzheimer's patient endures, and at the same time reminds us of how precious our thoughts and memories are.

I just finished Still Alice and find myself heart sick over it. I'm not sure I'm sorry or glad over her ability to follow the instructions in the Butterfly file. While she seemed to slip into a lovely little second childhood, and her own children rallied... it seemed her husband's only reaction was to run away in horror. Which I imagine isn't an unusual reaction. Yet I know that had Alice known this was all going to take place so quickly, she would have acted sooner to act out her own plan. It makes me want to take the tests to see if forgetting my keys, what I had for breakfast, or even the new hire's name immediately after introduction, is something more than just stress, lack of time and actually not giving a d*mn. Is it always sweet and someone else takes care of the details or do you find yourself in an ally not even knowing your own name? That is the true horror story. I'd recommend it to anyone and then avoid their worried glance after finishing.

A book you will not soon forget. The main character is engaging from the beginning and throughout her journey you can relate and sympathize with her. A moving book that helps shed light into what the person is going through and ways that they learn to deal with it and others around them. A very powerful moving book.

I so enjoyed this book! It is one of those books that will leave an impact on you, to have compassion when a family member has Alzheimer's.

Best book I've read in a long time. The author's ability to write an uplifting book based on a depressing topic is stellar!