by Lisa GenovaSimon & Schuster
~ Review in Halifax Herald, September 2009
Getting a book published is not easy. It can be downright discouraging for authors to get their work into print. And so it was for Lisa Genova. After finishing Still Alice, she realized it could take years to find a publisher. But she believed in her story and so did the National Alzheimer’s Association, so initially Genova published it herself. The rest, as they say, is history.
Alice Howland is an educated, energetic woman at the peak of her career as a professor of psychology at Harvard University. Her children are grown and on the road to their chosen careers. Grandchildren are on the way, her marriage is solid and life is good - until she begins to forget things. She gets lost on her regular running route. She sits waiting with her students for the lecture to begin, the one she should be teaching. Finally, her anxiety sends her to a specialist who gives her the devastating diagnosis - early onset Alzheimer’s. She is 50 years old.
Still Alice is written from inside Alice’s mind. She is aware of her deterioration and “pictured her Alzheimer’s as a demon in her head, tearing a reckless and illogical path of destruction …”
Genova’s background in neuroscience gives authority to her writing. She weaves a wealth of information into her story with clarity and simplicity. Remarkably, she never loses sight of the fact that Still Alice is a novel, something which entertains by its very nature. She keeps the fine balance, drawing her readers in. We root and cheer for Alice.
As her identity slips away, Alice fights back but she understands the inevitable outcome. “She thought about the books she’d always wanted to read … the ones she figured she’d have time for later.” Time is not on Alice’s side.
Alice’s family struggle to accept her diagnosis. They are conflicted, each one of them viewing the illness and the future through very different lenses. But as their understanding of Alzheimer’s progresses, they finally begin to make the adaptations and compromises necessary to keep Alice in their lives.
To Genova’s credit, this is not a depressing story of a life spiraling into despair and blankness.
Still Alice is about ever changing identity, and the willingness of families to adapt and change for those they love.
Lisa Genova holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer’s Association. This is her first novel.
