Still Alice

Alright let's hack this book apart a little bit.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Admittedly I am a book lover. In the worst way. I have on my shelf about 25 books (just the ones that came with me to Michigan) that I have not yet read. And I have amazing friends like Cory, Lauren, Abbey, and my mom who are either sending me books or recommending books I should comandeer from the library. And then there are books I find all on my own. If I could I would read all the time. But I have this thing called school that seriously cuts into my reading time. It is only my ability to read certain books in one sitting that allows me to know what a non-textbook is during the semester. This is one of those books. I think in all I read it over two nights and probably 6 hours in all. It's easy to get into.

A brief summary: Alice is a world reknowned psychologist who has taught at Harvard for 25+ years, has traveled the world, written a book with her biologist husband (about the connection between psychology and biology in your body) and has three kids. The book is told from her perspective which is perhaps the most heartbreaking part because Alice has early-onset Alzheimers. You're in Alice's life for about two years and you follow her from just a few symptoms to when she doesn't recognize her family.

The author does an amazing job of presenting the actual facts of Alzheimers and presenting it from the view of someone who was, by all standards, brilliant, she had a fantastic mind, and you watch from inside her head as it all slips away. Did I cry reading this book. Yes. Partly because I felt for this woman, and partly because it terrifies me that this could happen to me. This book is not exactly 'happy'. But it is fantastic. The empathy you feel not only for Alice but for her family is a product not only of the subject but of the writing. And it definitely gives a completely new perspective on people you may know with Alzheimers or just dementia. I totally recommend it, but be prepared for some sadness.