BOOK REVIEW

Title: Still Alice

Author: Lisa Genova

Publisher: Simon and Schuster, Inc.

City: 1230 Avenue New York

Year published: 2007

Alice, the main character of the story, is a modern middle-aged woman notable
in her field as a cognitive psychology professor in Harvard and a known linguist. In
the first part of the book, Alice was depicted as someone whom many people
respected for her mental prowess. She also has a successful husband with three
grown children. However, as Alice became aware that she has trouble remembering
things, she visited a neurologist, and after a series of tests, diagnosed her with an
early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The story then continued by showing the struggles
that she faced as she went through the stage where everything that she used to know
and do are changing, and the worst part is that she knew that there is no cure for
this uncontrollable disease.

Still Alice is a book which will really give a close-to-reality plot. Though, as I
was reading, I silently hoped that maybe there are some misdiagnosis that was given
to Alice, but it never happened. Unlike most of the fiction stories where happy ending
is a constant factor, Still Alice is strongly tied with reality. As an effect, readers can
really feel that Alzheimer’s is a slow, emotionally racking, disorder of cognition that
affects family and friends almost as severely as it affects the patient. There are times
that I want to be angry at John, her husband, but I cannot. It will never be easy to
accept the fact that the person you love is suffering, and knowing that it cannot be
stopped makes it more painful. After reading this book, the way I see Alzheimer’s
disease is never the same. I have watched movies and read some books on cases
where people are suffering from this, but all of those are told in the perspective of
the caretaker. This story is very different, as we are looking through the eyes of the
person who has the illness. The quality of life of the people with terminal illness is I
think one of the most heartwarming theme in this book. It exposes me to their world,
that even with their unreliable memories, these people are still worthy of respect.

The way Genova relayed the message on this disease, for me, is very effective.
Using the voice of Alice makes it more relatable, for the readers are aware of what is
going on in her mind. Even though, there are some plot points that gets lost, such as
when Alice was not able to recognize the fiancé of Dan, it was actually the best
evidence the author could use to reflect the memory disorientation of Alice. The
transition on the life of Alice before and after knowing that she has Alzheimer’s is
very crucial. Her journey is like my journey. As she was continuously remembering
the things that she noted in her phone, I also was with her. As she forgets one or the
other thing, I also prayed maybe she can recover her memory as she also tried to do
it. When she was lost during her run, I also was lost in her own searching. Narrating
instances where Alice forgets some words, or who she is talking to, makes it more
vivid and more heartbreaking. The feeling that I get when I read this book was so
affecting, to the point that I became paranoid whenever I forget things.

Lisa Genova, the author, was able to portray what Alzheimer’s disease is. As a
graduate of Biopsychology and a PhD holder in Neuroscience, readers are assured
that she has the authority in what she mentions in the book. She also included in her
acknowledgement that experts with this disease helped her in developing the story.
There was actually a part in the book that medical jargons are included, which
supports the fact that Lisa do know about this disease. One thing that motivates her
to write this kind of story is because her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
disease and she felt responsible research the disease and give an in-depth
information to her family in taking care of their grandmother.

As Alice is continuously trying to remember her yesterdays, re-evaluating her

relationship with her husband, and imagining her future with her children and
grandchildren, it can still be noted that despite of the condition that she has, she is
still Alice.