Still Alice (original 2007; edición 2014)

Wow, what a book. Almost all of us have been connected with someone with dementia at some point or will be. Many of us will have this condition if we live long enough. To have a book written from the point of view of the sick person was very interesting and enlightening. I cannot imagine what it is like to slip like people do but this book definitely gives an idea of what it is like. She did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people to get her thoughts on this book. I highly encourage people to read the book. The movie was good but this book is amazing. ( )

I LOVE this book! It's about a Harvard professor who had early onset Alzheimer's disease in her fifties. The story is written entirely from her point of view and documented her life over two years, from when she first started to show symptoms, to at the end of the book when the Alzheimer's has progressed to a point that she no longer recognized her immediate family members. If the story was told from the viewpoint of a family member, this would probably be a sad story on human deterioration. But because the story is told from the viewpoint of the Alzheimer's patient, it is not a sad story. Instead it is a story about identity shifting, from one's sense of worth being nested in what one knows and what one is capable of, to just enjoying being here, just enjoying other's company. The Harvard professor originally thought, if she came to the point that she no longer remembered the date, or her address, or her children, living would no longer be worthwhile. But when she actually got to that point, she didn't care any more (....because you would not be sad over losing something if you forgot losing that thing :D). But she still cared about her life, about eating ice cream, listening to music, playing with baby grandchildren, understanding the emotions of those around her..... And in turn it's her husband who started to think, I miss the old Alice, the old Alice wouldn't have wanted to be here.... INTERESTING! It makes you think what truly matters in life, what makes you who you are, and how losing your memory brings changes to these things.

The family dynamics were described from the point of view of an Alzheimer's patient. Because there are things she noticed and things she missed, trying to understand what's going on is a little bit like piecing together a puzzle. It was fun to do.

The protagonist was a professor, so the book went into great details about her life as a professor (and how her disease come to affect her so much that she could in no way continue that work.) The protagonist's husband is also a professor. I really appreciate how accurately the author depicted the academic life. I think it's the most accurate depiction of lives of professors that I've ever seen in a novel. ( )

Nothing like going inside the mind of someone who is losing it. This book is similar to Flowers for Algernon in this way, but not nearly as well written. I'd give Still Alice 5 stars on the basis of the powerful impact it had on me when I read it, but I'd give it a 2.5 for the quality of the writing. I settled on a 4 because I think the impact on the reader is the most important.
Mainly, I'd love to know how someone can publish a book that still needs so much revision and have it be as powerful as it is. Brava to Lisa Genova. ( )

I loved this book. I read it over the course of a few days while on vacation. Working with dementia patients, I totally understood what she was going through but from an entirely different perspective. I enjoyed reading it. ( )

I wish the writing had been better. The story could have been a lot more compelling if the writing was more engaging. ( )