Still Alice

Alice Howland is a professor of cognitive psychology at Harvard. She is known world wide for her research in linguistics and the quality of her teaching. She begins to have slight issues with her memory but is in denial about what is happening because she is only fifty years old. She receives the diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's. Her life changes dramatically with this information.

I won a copy of this book in the Goodreads First Reads Program*. I was intrigued by the description of this book. I would say it exceeded my expectations. The book is from Alice's perspective, which gave an intimate view of what it would be like to receive such a diagnosis, and the myriad of ways it would change your life. The reader gets to experience the fear, confusion, and change as it all appeared to Alice. I think this was an important way to tell this story.

I thought it was well written, and a very moving book. This was the first time I had read anything by Lisa Genova, but I will keep my eye out for more books from her. I thought she had an excellent way of communicating the information about Alzheimer's without letting it overwhelm her story. I also liked that she was able to write about the difficulties of this disease without sensationalizing the situations. I appreciated the honest look at this disease. I liked the questions that were brought up such as: what makes a person unique or them, the importance of making medical choices that you want for your life, how do we treat people with mental illnesses, how should families cope with situations such as this, and when do you trust the diagnosis from your doctor? These were just a few things, but I liked how thought provoking this book was.

I would recommend reading this book.