Still Alice is a 2007 New York Times bestselling novel by Lisa Genova. After seeing the critically acclaimed 2014 movie of the same name starring Julianne Moore as Alice, I couldn’t wait to read it.
The story follows Dr. Alice Howard-wife, mother, and professor of psychology at Harvard University and world-renowned linguistics expert-as she, her family, friends, and colleagues struggle to deal with her diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Cleverly told from Alice’s point of view, she initially believes her recent sudden fogs and memory loss are attributed to a brain tumor or menopause. She is fifty after all. But after extensive neurological testing, she learns the frightening truth. Even worse, due to the fact that she has a hereditary form of the disease, her three adult children are also at risk when they reach her age.
So, who passed this ill-fated disease on to Alice? She traces it back to her father, now deceased. Suddenly, she recalls his forgetfulness, which up until now she’d blamed on a lifetime of alcoholism.
As Alice ponders her incurable disease, she wishes she had cancer instead. “With cancer she’d have something she could fight. There was surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. There was a chance she could win."
If given a choice, which door would you choose? Cancer or Alzheimer’s? Thought-provoking to say the least, eh? As for Alice, she chooses Door no. 3: She devises a plan to commit suicide before her mind is so far gone she is in need of expensive institutional care.
Folks, while this book does not have the thrill of unexpected plot twists or chills that will have you on the edge of your seat, it is a page-turner nonetheless. With chapters dedicated to a singular month in time, the author skillfully allows the reader to observe Alice’s shockingly rapid decline. For instance, in April, she loses track of time and goes to work in the middle of the night in her nightclothes. In July, she forgets where the bathroom is located in her own home and wets herself before she is able to find it. In August, she fails to recognize one of her own children.
Still Alice will leave you hoping, even praying (if you are the praying kind), that neither you nor your loved ones will ever develop Alzheimer’s and face a future as alien as any dystopian society.
Lastly, I would be amiss if I did not bring to your attention, as evident in her acknowledgements, the in-depth research Ms. Genova did on the subject of Alzheimer’s and academic life at Harvard in order to tell this story.
Courtesy of that research, here are a few general facts about early onset Alzheimer’s as they appear in the book:
- There are an estimated five hundred thousand people in the United States with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
- Early-onset is defined as Alzheimer’s under the age of sixty-five.
- Symptoms can develop in the thirties and forties.
RATING: 5 out of 5 stars
Comment: Rick’s Reviews thanks Patricia for her insightful review of a novel that deals with the sensitive plight of thousands of patients and their families. The first case of this disease was treated by German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer in 1901. He followed the symptoms of Auguste Deter until she died in 1906.
From the movie:
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