Still Alice

By: Lisa Genova

Narrated by: Lisa Genova

In Lisa Genova’s extraordinary New York Times bestselling novel, an accomplished woman slowly loses her thoughts and memories to Alzheimer’s disease—only to discover that each day brings a new way of living and loving. Now a major motion picture starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth, and Kristen Stewart!

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 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.©2009 Lisa Genova; (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Heartbreakingly real.... So real, in fact, that it kept me from sleeping for several nights. I couldn't put it down....Still Alice is a story that must be told." -- Brunonia Barry, New York Times bestselling author of The Lace Reader

"After I read Still Alice, I wanted to stand up and tell a train full of strangers, 'You have to get this book.'" -- Beverly Beckham, The Boston Globe

"This book is as important as it is impressive, and will grace the lives of those affected by this dread disease for generations to come." -- Phil Bolsta, author of Sixty Seconds

"With a master storyteller's easy eloquence, Lisa Genova shines a searing spotlight on this Alice's surreal wonderland. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to read this book. It will inform you. It will scare you. It will change you." -- Julia Fox Garrison, author of Don't Leave Me This Way

"A work of pure genius." -- Charley Schneider, author of Don't Bury Me, It Ain't Over Yet

"A masterpiece that will touch lives in ways none of us can even imagine. This book is the best portrayal of the Alzheimer's journey that I have read." -- Mark Warner, Alzheimer's Daily News

"With grace and compassion, Lisa Genova writes about the enormous white emptiness created by Alzheimer's." -- The Improper Bostonian

"Heartbreaking." -- The Cape Cod Chronicle

A peek inside life with EOAD

Compelling story of one woman's internal decay and its effects on her family.

The narrator is good but her young voice is usually at odds with the mind voice of a middle aged woman fighting an old people disease.

Needs a better narrator

What did you love best about Still Alice?

There were some really beautifully written moments, both in terms of the emotion of the moment and the actual sentence construction.

What did you like best about this story?

Through her writing style, the author has a way of letting you feel the same disorientation and confusion that Alice feels as her disease progresses.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Lisa Genova?

A professional narrator and someone older with more "gravitas" to their voice. I felt like Genova's delivery and tone were likely what you would hear if she were to give a reading at a book club or book signing event, but it wasn't appropriate for the full-length audiobook. Even my 13 year old son, who happened to catch just a piece of this book while he was in the car with me, commented that he didn't think the narration was very good.

Any additional comments?

Despite the flaws in the narration, the story was compelling. I always know I've found a good audiobook when I can't wait to get into my car at the end of the workday so I can listen to my book. "Still Alice" was definitely one of those books.

Wow!

The timeline was a little fast paced but it was a great story. I expected the husband to be more understanding, but he wasn't.

Awesome

My mother, 81, has been diagnosed with mild to moderate (more moderate) Alzheimer's. This book was recommended to me by the elder care law practice we are using. What a great suggestion. I kept wondering how Ms. Genova was able to describe in great detail the daily situational difficulties facing the dementia patient. I could definitely relate to some of the things Alice said or did. This book doesn't offer any care-giver suggestions, but it is certainly a good first read if you are getting ready to deal with this disease.

Great book! Great insight

I really liked listening to this book and thought the performance was good as well. If you are a person with a lot of empathy...ready yourself. It's a great read for anyone and really made me think and fear a little