Still Alice by Lisa Genova

   I started this book yesterday at about 12:30 in the afternoon, and minus a few hours for things to do, I finished it at 11:30 that night. I could not stop reading it. Still Alice impacted me in a way that a book has not in a very long time. When I finished the book I felt, not numb, but very still. It was like I had to let it just sit for a bit before I could move on or I would lose something important.
   Alice is a 50 year old Harvard cognitive psychology professor who discovers that she has early onset Alzheimer's. She is brilliant, loves language and its aquisition, has three grown children and is married to John, a biology professor. Alice and John have slowly drifted closer to their career passions; something Alice notices, but is unable to turn around for them.
   Her struggle to retain herself as she loses the ability to, her frustration, fear, anger; her love, are all wonderfully captured. Alice's family's struggles are painted just as vividly. Still Alice is written in a balanced blending of the first and third person that illustrates the progression of her dementia in way that is both heartbreaking and beautiful. Alice and her family are real, and you want to reach out to her without pity and with friendship to make up for the fear and embarrassment that she is met with.
   Lisa Genova wove a rich fabric in Still Alice that I think all readers should wear on their bookshelves. Her story was just a chance book that I chose at the library, yes, I judged it by its cover. I am glad I did. Writing this review brings back its haunting, sad and beautiful story as though I was in the midst of the tale myself.

Favorite Quotes:

"The clocks in their home rarely knew the real time of day. Alice had been duped too often in the past by their seemingly honest faces..."

"A zealous crowd surrounded and circled a buffet table, aggressively diving in for food like seagulls at a city beach."

"Anna was his older sister. She'd taught him how to snap and blow gum bubbles, and she always gave him her Halloween candy."

"There it was, her Alzheimer's, stripped and naked under the fluorescent lighting, on display for Sarah Something to scrutinize and judge."

"She couldn't wait to smell her delicious grandchildren."

"The tiny, sleeping baby breathed tiny, shallow breaths through tiny, round nostrils."

Overall Opinion:

I know I said this blog was not about self discovery, but I would be a human null if I didn't admit that Still Alice woke something in me.

Rating:

Must Recommend for Reading