This book takes you step-by-step into the world of an Alzheimer's patient. Because the patient is a well-published academic, we are more inclined to accept her descriptions of the process through which she is moving. The way this process is given to the reader, one can not help but feel despair at the relentlessness of this advancing disease. ( )

Memorable, frightening and compelling - "Still Alice" provides an unforgettable look at Alzheimer's disease through the first-hand account of one woman's struggle. It was hard to pick up - I didn't want to read it - but once I started it, it was impossible to put down. ( )

I wasn't sure if I would like a book with this subject matter in a novel format. However, Lisa Genova wrote a novel that could easily pass for a non-fiction true story. Her expertise in the field of Alzheimers disease is clearly evident and adds so much to the book. Alzheimers is such a terrifying disease because of the loss of your identity. This book is a must read for anyone dealing with this disease. It's extremely sad but how could it be anything else. ( )

This is a scary book, especially as I watch my mom's deteriorating cognitive abilities although she's not near the level of Alice. I found this to be a basically uplifting book in the way that Alice and her family responded to her progressive deterioration. I especially loved the last scene where Alice is working with her daughter the actress.

”As the disease worsens and continues to steal pieces of what she’d always thought of as her self, we see her discover that she is more than what she can remember.” - Lisa Genova on her character, Alice.

Still Alice was one of those book that will forever leave its fingerprint on me. A story about losing one’s memory, it was an unforgettable book about a truly memorable character.

Lisa Genova’s debut book explored what it was like for Alice Howland, a 50-year-old Harvard psychology professor, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. The book opened as Alice began experiencing moments of forgetfulness – small slips in her language and sense of orientation – that she marked off as side effects of menopause. After finally seeing her doctor, Alice received the most devastating and surprising diagnosis – one that would change her life forever.

Told exclusively from Alice’s viewpoint, I watched Alice go through all stages of grief about her diagnosis. Then, I read page after page as Alice struggled with her disease. Never before have I been so close to a character who was declining like this. It was heart-breaking but enlightening.

Last spring, my father was diagnosed with mixed dementia – a troublesome combination of vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s. I chose this book because I wanted some insight on how this disease affected the person. We hear so much about the caregivers and families, but what about the person with Alzheimer’s? After reading this book, I have gained a better understanding about the Alzheimer’s patient – who is still a person, a man, my dad.

Even if you’ve been fortunate enough to not have dementia in your personal circle, I still can’t recommend Still Alice enough. Its depiction of the human side of Alzheimer’s was touching and memorable. I laughed with Alice at her blunders, raged when her husband and kids became insensitive, rooted for her while she hung on to her last threads of memory, and cried when she realized that life is not about what you remember but what you loved. That’s a lesson for all of us to remember. ( )