Because Ideas Matter...
The faculty and staff of Butler University's College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences presents
Recommended Readings
Still Alice
by Lisa Genova,Pocket, 2009
Reviewed by Eloise Sureau-Hale
Still Alice by Lisa Genova is one of the
most poignant books I have read in a long time. It follows Alice
Howland, a vibrant middle-aged tenured professor of neuropsychology
at Harvard, as she becomes more and more forgetful, starting small
with misplacing everyday objects, to finding herself completely
lost and disoriented in her own neighborhood on one of her daily
jogs. She is unable to decipher the reason why, blaming the events
on menopause. While seeking answers she discovers, to her dismay
that she suffers from the early onset of Alzheimer's disease.
Published in 2009, marvelously written, the story takes on the
perspective from Alice's point of view as she slowly loses touch
with reality. We see, in Alice's eyes, how people around her start
changing their behaviors and treating her differently while Alice
still clings to her past, hopelessly trying to stay normal and to
lead a normal life. We also see how her family and loved ones react
to the change, and how their own lives take the toll that Alice's
new condition brings. Unable to reverse the effects, Alice slowly
spins out of control as she is more and more forced into the
shadows created by that unbeatable disease. An absolute must-read!
.
- Eloise Sureau-Hale is Associate Professor of French at Butler
University.