Synopsis from GoodReads: Alice Howland is proud of the life she has worked so hard to build. A Harvard professor, she has a successful husband and three grown children. When Alice begins to grow forgetful at first she just dismisses it, but when she gets lost in her own neighborhood she realizes that something is terribly wrong. Alice finds herself in the rapid downward spiral of Alzheimer's disease. She is only 50 years old. While Alice once placed her worth and identity in her celebrated and respected academic life, now she must re-evaluate her relationship with her husband, her expectations of her children and her ideas about herself and her place in the world. Losing her yesterdays, her short-term memory hanging on by a couple of frayed threads, she is living in the moment, living for each day. But she is still Alice.
Still Alice by Lisa GenovaMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow, I loved this book. I am not a crier- the last book I can really remember crying from was the series finale of Harry Potter. This book had me crying- at 8am. On a plane. Not even kidding.
It wasn't just that the story was sad- this book about early-onset Alzheimer's could just have easily been overly sappy or dramatic. It was just that this book felt so real. Alice could have been my friend, or my mother- or heck, she could have been me. I related to her extremely well. Every part of the book seemed so realistic to me- the reactions of her husband, her children, and herself to her diagnosis just felt entirely convincing. And in their realness, the book became utterly heartbreaking. The disease makes Alice confront her feelings on death, what makes life worth living, what makes us "us" without memories; in doing so, it makes the reader confront her own beliefs.
The book did make me feel slightly paranoid about my own memory- I swear I couldn't remember some of the neurology quizzes after just reading it the page before! I hope that's not a sign...
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Hopping over for the Book Blogger Hop - I read this book too and yes, it seemed very real. I thought the husband was rather selfish, but he must have had a bad time of it.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite books. I reviewed it earlier this year and absolutely fell in love with it. I've given it to my family to read, too!! It's definitely a tear-jerker and makes you treasure life a wee bit more!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my hop. I also liked this book except like leeswammes was disapppointed at the husband. Looking forward to your other reviews.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean about the husband- but yet, it felt very realistic- like that's exactly how someone would respond. We wanted him to have a better, more compassionate, reaction, but his actual reaction seemed to me to be exactly like how someone grieving would act.
ReplyDeleteI'm hopping around finding new blogs, visiting old favorites, and spreading the word that I am giving away A Small Fortune on Rose City Reader. It's my first-ever give away, so I am excited about it.
ReplyDeleteI'll go look around more now. Glad I found your blog.
Yay! I love the Blog Hop, although I haven't gotten to participate yet today. I really want to read this one.
ReplyDeleteJust hopping by to say, hi.
ReplyDeleteKelly Bookend Diaries
http://bookenddiaries.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by my blog! wow.. this book sounds really sad but interesting. I really feel for those who suffer from any form of memory loss, it must be really scary/frustrating/horrible. Great review!
ReplyDeleteJust hopping by - hop on over to The Wormhole!
ReplyDeleteI want to read it! Thanks for the suggestion!
ReplyDeleteHi! Stopping by for the hop. I just reviewed this on my blog as well and I loved it. It haunted me for awhile! Nice to meet you and happy reading! :)
ReplyDeleteDanielle @ everylastpage.blogspot.com