Still Alice

I vividly remember my father saying that he hoped he died of physical causes before he fell into dementia or Alzheimer's disease. That was not the case, and my family sadly watched this man, who could add in his head faster than we could use a calculator, lose his mental abilities over a two-year period before he died of cancer.

Lisa Genova's remarkable novel is told from the viewpoint of the main character, a Harvard professor and researcher who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at the height of her career. She has both the gift and the curse of time and self-knowledge. While she can prepare for the inevitable and put coping mechanisms into place, she can also see clearly what is coming and how it impacts her children, her husband and her daily life.

Because Genova is a neuroscientist, her knowledge and insight are exceptional. As she takes us through the progression of the disease from a patient's perspective, the reader is given a window into the feelings of Alzheimer patients and an understanding of their behavior.

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