Still Alice Book Review

Written in 2008, Still Alice by Lisa Genova, is an ‘older’ book given that there is ongoing research into Alzheimer’s. However, the book still has merit as a look into the world of an individual who has the disease.

My mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s but is still doing all right, still able to live in her own home with my stepfather. This book is helpful for someone trying to understand how it is live with the disease. 

Quotes inside the book make statements like “dementia is dark and ugly” and I know most of us realize that fact. They tell us accurately that the author “leads us through the process of diagnosis and the impact of the changing needs on family, friends and colleagues.” If you haven’t already been through that process with a loved one, this book will help you see life through the lens of someone with this form of dementia.

The book was Genova’s first novel and is a good look into and a compassionate work of fiction about the disease. You will find Still Alice here to Amazon. There is also a movie done with the same name and you will find Dawn Rae’s review of the movie version of this story right here on Review This Reviews.

Genova has also written a novel about a patient with ALS. If you haven’t read it, you might check my review of Every Note Played here. Once again, it is not a pretty story but a real one, well told and an insightful look into the world of people with this disease.

See you
At the bookstore!
Brenda

Quick Link:

Find your copy of STILL ALICE here on Amazon.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Movie Review - Still Alice

Still Alice

The movie, Still Alice is based on the book written by Lisa Genova. The book is a New York Times Bestseller and the movie has won more awards than I care to list. Despite these accolades, I'd never heard of the movie. I am so glad that I purchased a copy and enjoyed it so much that I have already viewed it twice this past weekend.  If you have not seen Still Alice, you may want to. 

Still Alice

Alice is a professional, highly educated, and highly respected woman who has successfully raised three children and maintained a marriage. She is healthy, active, and appears to have everything the American dream consists of.  Until she begins to lose the part of her that she feels most defines her - her cognitive functioning.

According to Mayo Clinic, dementia ...

..."describes a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily functioning."

Alice (played by Julianne Moore) begins to change, and declines fairly rapidly with her diagnosis of rare early onset Alzheimer's. While the movie is limited by time, we get a snapshot of how the world of a confident woman is turned upside, her family core shaken, and how family roles change. Incidents of seemingly normal forgetfulness turns to forgetting how to do mundane tasks, not recognizing places, forgetting family members.  As she struggles, her husband and children struggle and roles change. 

As in any real situation in which a family member becomes chronically or terminally ill, there are people who fade away and there are people who step up and take care of the ailing person. We watch these dynamics unfold in this love story. 

This movie brought me to tears. During some of the hard-to-watch scenes as Alice deteriorates as well as during some of the scenes that we witness how she is loved during this very difficult time. We learn very few of the facts of Early Onset Dementia. Instead, this is a very intimate look at one woman, one family, and the many feelings that dementia brings.  I wish I could describe my thoughts about the movie in-depth but I don't want to risk a spoiler. Instead, I want the seasons of her life to unfold in front of you as they did in front of me.

Just don't forget to bring the tissues when you sit down to watch Still Alice.


For more personal stories of living with a loved one who has Alzheimer's:

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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