Amazon Editorial Review:

Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience from Harvard University.

Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what's it's like to literally lose your mind...

Reminiscent of A Beautiful Mind, Ordinary People and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Still Alice packs a powerful emotional punch and marks the arrival of a strong new voice in fiction.

Alice Howland is a 50 year old Harvard professor with three grown children. She has begun to notice some forgetfulness but becomes alarmed when she goes out for her customary run and gets lost. This must be more than menopausal symptoms. It is. A diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimers is devastating.

The reader follows Alice through her increasing fogginess and confusion. Her family deals with the disease in varying ways.

I found it very difficult to read this book as my mother had Alzheimers. Every test that Alice took, I took and failed. Every single thing I forgot got blown out of proportion. Several of the earlier things that Alice forgot were things that had happened to my mom that the family put down to busyness and forgetfulness. To read the book as through Alice's eyes gave me an insight into my mother's problems. Like Lydia, I took charge and could relate to her. I had a hard time with how John, her husband dealt with the disease. It seemed to me to be selfish and not very caring. A fascinating book from the eyes of an Alzheimer patient.

Reading now.

Alice is a published Harvard professor in psychology, specializing in linguistics. When she starts to forget small items, she thinks maybe she is headed for early menopause. The items she forgets start to become bigger problems and eventually Alice forgets where she is for a moment in Harvard Square. Still hiding this from her family, Alice visits her family doctor and a neurologist and is given a positive diagnosis: Alzheimer's.

Alice has to share this devastating news with her husband and family, knowing that there's a 50% chance her three children have the disease. Alice notices things getting worse and knows that it's her Alzheimers but can't stop it. Slowly this disease starts eating away from her, affecting everything she does and all of her relationships.

This book is guaranteed to hit home for anyone that has dealt with this disease. My grandmother lived with Alzheimers and after reading this book, I wonder if she knew that her memory lapses were from the disease and if she had similar thoughts to Alice's on whether she wanted to carry on and the depression of knowing that you're slipping away. An incredibly emotional read, this is both a tragic and captivating story. It makes you want to have discussions with your loved ones on how they will react if you ever contract the disease yourself, especially after the disappointing way Alice's husband reacts. It's hard to believe that this is Genova's first novel.

This book is back with me :)

mailed to Candy-is-dandy who won this in the Oct YBS on BookObsessed

Looks to be a rather emotional read. I don't have first hand experience of anyone with Alzheimers (thank goodness) but know friends are having to deal with the deterioration of their mum or dad's memory and character. Thanks for sharing.

Taking to the Chelmsford Bookcrossing meet tonight at The Fox & Raven. Where next little book?

Picked up at the meet last week. Sounds interesting. Will read this during the long Hebridean winter nights - hopefully it's not too depressing!

Read and appreciated this book a few months ago. A difficult topic but well handled, especially for a first novel, I thought.
Of course, Alice is exceptional, in that she's able to analyse her own situation (up to a point) and receives top class care, at the earliest stage, but that doesn't make it a happy ending.
I'll be releasing this in the next few weeks.
PS didn't realise I'd had the book sooooooo long... sorry!

Oops, now had the book even longer... hope the next reader finds it a worthwhile read.

Left in a charity shop in Stornoway :D