The Little Things
June 24, 2015

Still Alice, by author Lisa Genova, has been on my “to read” list since I saw a trailer for the movie back in 2014. I finally sat down to read it in April, and was immediately sucked into the story.

Still Alice is a story about Alice, a Harvard cognitive psychology professor and linguistic specialist in her 40’s. Alice becomes increasingly confused and disoriented, leading to a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s. Still Alice follows the internal world of Alice as she comes to gripes with slowly losing her life. It also shows the impact that a diagnosis like that has on family, and the reader gets to see a bit of each family member grieving the diagnosis.

Still Alice Book Review

Genova has a fantastic way of educating the reader in a way that isn’t overbearing, and is woven through a beautifully written story. This book broke my heart, and I definitely had some crying moments as I read the story.

As I often like to do, here are a few quotes that stood out to me:

“And I have no control over which yesterdays I keep and which ones get deleted. This disease will not be bargained with. I can’t offer it the names of the US presidents in exchange for the names of my children. I can’t give it the names of state capitals and keep the memories of my husband…My yesterdays are disappearing, and my tomorrows are uncertain, so what do I live for? I live for each day. I live in the moment. Some tomorrow soon, I’ll forget that I stood before you and gave this speech. But just because I’ll forget it some tomorrow doesn’t mean that I didn’t live every second of it today. I will forget today, but that doesn’t mean that today doesn’t matter.”

“In examining disease, we gain wisdom about anatomy and physiology and biology. In examining the person with disease, we gain wisdom about life.”

Genova has a beautiful way of creating moments of inspiration and resiliency throughout her works, and Still Alice is no different. I haven’t watched the movie yet, but I’d highly encourage you to add the book to your “to-read” list, and let it take you on a journey of transformation.

For other book reviews and recommendations, check out my book reviews page.

←

2 responses to “Still Alice Book Review”

  1. Abby @ BackAtSquareZero says:
    June 24, 2015 at 7:54 pm

    I love your book reviews. You are such a ravenous reader. I have a pile of 13 books next to my bed, I just counted, but yet I keep getting sucked into NetFlix marathons.

    • littlethingscaroline@gmail.com says:
      June 28, 2015 at 12:38 am

      Thank you! I really enjoy reading and listening to audiobooks! What’s on your “to read” list?