Upon its release in January 2009, it debuted at #5 on The New York Times Bestseller List.After you read this, you will never look at Alzheimer's the same again.
It went on to win the 2008 Bronte Prize for best love story in North America and was then picked up by Simon & Schuster's Pocket Books. Passed over by several publishing houses, an endorsement from The National Alzheimer's Association gave Genova the conviction to self-publish.
The novel's success today belies the challenges it faced finding a publisher. "Or is my identity something that transcends neurons, proteins, and defective molecules of DNA? Is my soul and spirit immune to the ravages of Alzheimer's?" Genova affirms that the person who remains-in spite of her diminishments-is still valuable and often vibrant and she shows how personal identity is derived in part from the love and memories of those around us. "Is the part of my brain that's responsible for my unique 'me-ness' vulnerable to this disease?" she asks. As her career and memories fall apart, Alice is forced to question who she is. Genova's novel is also an inquiry into personal identity. Written from Alice's point of view, readers are able to experience her frustrations, confusion, and terror first-hand. We observe Alice as she explores her treatment options, participates in a clinical trial of a promising drug, and attempts to cope with the unpredictable nature of her condition. in neuroscience from Harvard, details the disease's progression over a two-year span with sensitivity and scholarship. While earlier cases have been documented, early-onset Alzheimer's typically affects people in their 50s.Įach chapter chronicles a consecutive month in Alice's life. And 500,000 of them-or 10 percent-are under the age of 65. According to the Alzheimer's Association, there are approximately 5 million people living with Alzheimer's disease in the United States. When Alzheimer's affects someone before the age of 65, it is known as early-onset. After Alice takes a genetic test, her neurologist delivers the devastating diagnosis: She is positive for a mutation linked with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. The episodes increase and intensify until Alice can no longer dismiss them as signs of routine stress and aging. In Lisa Genova's debut novel, Still Alice (Pocket Books, 2009), 50-year-old Alice Howland is at the pinnacle of her career-enjoying acclaim as a distinguished professor of psychology at Harvard and savoring the accomplishments of her grown children and Harvard professor husband-when she begins to experience moments of confusion and forgetfulness. Coping with Alzheimer’s Through the Eyes of AliceĮxperience the frustrations, confusion, and terror that come with early-onset Alzheimer’s in Lisa Genova’s novel, Still Alice.
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