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What readers think of Still Alice, plus links to write your own review.

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Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Still Alice

by Lisa Genova
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  • Critics' Consensus:
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  • First Published:
  • Jan 6, 2009, 320 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2009, 320 pages
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Reviews

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There are currently 11 reader reviews for Still Alice
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Power Reviewer
Betty Taylor

Tragic but Realistic
This book is an amazing look at the life of a highly intelligent college professor who is diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease. It was so tragic reading of the impact on her life, how others change they way they treat her, and how her husband and children deal with it. She also wrote "Inside the O'Briens" which takes the same approach with Huntington's Disease. I loved it too.
Linda

OMG!
I am living with my friend who is only 65 and over the last two years I have seen such a change in him. I have known him for 13 years and he is not the same man I knew since this disease started showing up in him about 3 years ago. This book shows and tells so much of where he is going now and how much we live through on a daily basis. He has been on Aricept but it does not seem to make a difference in the decline. We will be going to a new neurologist and asking about other meds. I recommend that whether you know someone who has dementia or Alzheimers, and even if you don't know someone....you must read this book for yourself and your friends and family because you never know when it is going to strike.
Kelli Robinson

Walk in the Shoes of Alice
I decided to read Still Alice because the average reader rating is extremely high. I'd never heard of the book or the author but gave it a try. I cannot even recall the last time I felt this emotionally moved by a book - ever. Something about this story, this educated woman who is a mere 4 years older than I am slowly losing herself to Alzheimer's, touched my heart deeply. I found myself welling up with emotion several times while I read the book and then there was a moment towards the end where I had to stop reading because the tears in my eyes had completely obscured my vision. So, before I even finished the book, I bought a copy and sent it to my mother. Honestly, I just want to know if I am crazy or maybe just hormonal or - possibly - this is just the right book for me at the right time. Walking in the shoes of Alice was the perfect perspective for this story. Finishing this book has filled me with empathy for a disease I knew so little about when I started.
Kelli Robinson

Early Onset Alzheimer's Examined
I decided to read Still Alice because of its many favorable reader reviews. I'd never heard of the book or the author but gave it a try. I cannot even recall the last time I felt this emotionally moved by a book - ever. Something about this story, this educated woman who is a mere 4 years older than I am slowly losing herself to Alzheimer's, touched my heart deeply. I found myself welling up with emotion several times while I read the book and then there was a moment towards the end where I had to stop reading because the tears in my eyes had completely obscured my vision. WTF? So, before I even finished the book, I bought a copy and sent it to my mother. Honestly, I just want to know if I am crazy or maybe just hormonal or - possibly - this is just the right book for me at the right time. Walking in the shoes of Alice was the perfect perspective for this story. Finishing this book has filled me with empathy for a disease I knew so little about when I started.
Jean-R.N.

Still Alice
Well written - everyone should be made aware of the dynamics in dealing with anyone exhibiting the symptoms of Alz. disease. Important to understand & remember that they have feelings too, regardless of their ability to communicate. As a nurse I worked with Alzheimer patients & I read & reread this thought provoking book. You should read it too.
Marian Shapiro

Enlightening and Educational
This is a heart wrenching and heart warming story that takes us through the devastating diagnosis that Alice comes face to face with. It also lets us know how this affects all the other family members and how they find the strength to be supportive and loving of their wife and mom, while she becomes less cognitively present and aware of them. With Alzheimer's disease affecting so many families, this book has the potential to educate and sensitize future patients and caretakers. Thank you Lisa Genoa for this very realistic and helpful introduction to something which can affect any of us. It is always good to be prepared even as we hope we will never be in Alice's shoes.
jm

question
Is it based on a true story? [BookBrowse: No, it is not. However, the Author has a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard, and did a considerable amount of research and collection of stories from people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s (who could still describe what it’s like to have dementia). This research makes the book seem like a true story, even if it is not.]
Llusha

Unique
I started this reluctantly this morning because I thought it would contain painfully personal connections (MiL had early-onset Alzheimer's), and it did, and because I thought it would be too short (and it was).
Highly recommended
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Beyond the Book:
  Alzheimer's Disease

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