Still Alice is the heartbreaking tale of Alice Howland, a Harvard professor with a loving husband and three children, who is diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimers Disease at the age of (almost) 50. Although told in the third person, the story is told from Alice’s point of view and it really is heartrending as we witness her memories and cognitive functions degenerate further and further. Her husband, children and colleagues also have to come to terms with losing the woman they love, even though she is still there physically.
Earlier this year, my beautiful, outgoing and vibrant mother-in-law passed away at the age of 67 years, after living for several years with Alzheimers, so this book was in many ways hard to read. I saw first hand what it was like to see someone change from a loving and capable adult into the shell of who they once were, not recognising her own children and displaying vicious behaviour which would have once horrified her. Certainly I recognised from first hand experience certain behaviours described in the book, and it is clear that the author very seriously researched the disease and the effects it can have.
I felt that the writing itself flowed very well, and it was a compelling and absorbing book, difficult as the subject matter is. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has a loved one living with Alzheimers as I think it would give an understanding of what their family member or friend is going through.
I liked that although Alice was losing parts of herself bit-by-bit, she still had a distinctive personality and was still depicted as a fully fleshed out character – that she was, as the title conveys, still Alice.
As sad as this book was, I loved it. It was beautifully written and I would urge others to read it. I will definitely be looking out for more books by Lisa Genova.
Between the Pages 