Still Alice

STILL ALICE is a powerful and emotionally charged novel about a woman's descent into dementia through early-onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author and Harvard neuroscientist Lisa Genova. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, STILL ALICE captures in remarkable detail what it's like to literally lose your mind... Alice Howland is a 50-year-old cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics, with grown children and a satisfying marriage to an academic, when she starts to experience fleeting forgetfulness and disorientation. She initially attributes these episodes to normal aging or menopause. But as her symptoms worsen, she sees a neurologist and is given the diagnosis that will change her life forever: early-onset Alzheimer's disease. With no cure or treatment, Alice struggles to overcome her shock and find meaning and purpose in her everyday life as her sense of self is gradually stripped away, leaving her unable to continue in her profession, take care of herself, recognise her loved ones or even understand that she has a neurodegenerative disease. Without memory or hope, Alice is forced to live in the moment, which is in turns maddening, beautiful and terrifying. Lisa Genova uses the successful, articulate and independent Alice as the perfect vehicle to capture what it feels like to literally lose your mind. This novel will touch and inspire you. You will admire Alice's strength and resourcefulness even as you cry over her losses. STILL ALICE is hopeful to the end and brings a new understanding for all those affected by this terrifying neurological disease, whilst celebrating love, family and the human mind.