• Still Alice

  • By: Lisa Genova
  • Narrated by: Lisa Genova
  • Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (7,056 ratings)

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Still Alice  By  cover art

Still Alice

By: Lisa Genova
Narrated by: Lisa Genova
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Editorial reviews

The heart-wrenching tale of 50-year-old Alice Howland and her early onset Alzheimer's diagnosis is narrated eloquently by author Lisa Genova. Alice, a successful linguistics professor at Harvard, is married to John, an equally esteemed Harvard professor, and together they have three grown children. Her biggest worry in life is her youngest daughter's move to L.A. to pursue acting until Alice starts forgetting things. It begins innocuously enough: misplacing her BlackBerry, missing unimportant appointments on her to-do list, searching her mind for tip-of-the-tongue phrases. But when she goes on her familiar daily run through Cambridge, and becomes disoriented just one mile from home, Alice knows something is terribly wrong.

A battery of tests and multiple doctor visits later, her worst nightmare is confirmed she is in the first stages of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Told from Alice's perspective, it's a frighteningly keen insight to the slow deterioration of a debilitating disease. Every nuance of pain, frustration, fear, and sorrow is captured in Genova's voice and she expertly utilizes the pregnant pause, and short, choppy sentences to convey the confusion and pain of Howland's thoughts during testing and diagnosis.

Genova's slight Boston accent lends authenticity to the story, and she doesn't oversell the emotion behind the words. Her transitions between character dialogue are smooth and subtle, but she so embodies the main character Alice, it's hard to remember that it is Genova, and not Howland herself, telling her story. Knowing its being read exactly as it was intended by the author creates an even stronger connection to the work. Equally present is the devastating effect this illness has on Alice's husband, children, and coworkers. And while there's obviously no happy ending in sight, Genova still manages to paint a story of hope, reminding listeners that even in the midst of great loss and suffering, love remains. Colleen Oakley

Publisher's summary

What if every memory you've ever had will be erased from your mind, and you have no choice but to carry on...powerless to stop it?

Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At 50 years old, she's a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she begins to grow disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life - and her relationship with her family and the world - forever.

At once beautiful and terrifying, this extraordinary debut novel by Lisa Genova is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Ordinary People.

©2009 Lisa Genova (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"After I read Still Alice, I wanted to stand up and tell a train full of strangers, 'You have to get this book.'" ( Boston Globe)
"With grace and compassion, Lisa Genova writes about the enormous white emptiness created by Alzheimer's." ( The Improper Bostonian)
"A masterpiece that will touch lives in ways none of us can even imagine." ( Alzheimer's Daily News)

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What listeners say about Still Alice

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Still Alice

Lisa Generova wrote a scholarly &. Humane study on Altzheimers disease & its individual life destroying impact as well as on families.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

LOVED

Made me realize how Mom must have felt....for the years she suffered...Taken From Us ...Much Too Soon..

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Excellent book

An important, poignant and gut-wrenching novel about a woman developing Alzheimer’s and her family. A very accurate portrayal. I recommend it highly.

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Can't wait to see the movie!

Very emotional, real and heartbreaking.
Takes you into what someone with Alzheimer's is experiencing. Should make everyone who reads it much more sensitive to those dealing with this terrible disease.

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Very moving story

Really brings into perspective what takes place as the illness progresses. This story will sit with me for awhile.

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Thought Provoking

Not an easy subject to address. Done well. Loved the emotional journey. Alzheimer's is scary AND real.

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Performance is flat but the book is excellent.

This book is a terrifying dive into what it might be like to experience the gradual decline into Alzheimer's disease. It's very emotional and gripping.

However, the reading (by Lisa Genova herself) is very flat and unaffected. It's not much different than if it was read by a computer, which takes some of the punch out of the subject. For example, there's a moment where Alice loses her temper with her husband for the first time and drops an F-bomb over the phone at him; it's read with the same level of emotion as if she were commenting on the weather.

Overall, it's a good book, but probably better to read than listen to.

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still alice

This was a very good book and I will reccomend it to my friends who also listen to audible

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Beautiful. And terrifying.

it is a beautiful book. It is a terrifying book. I am a 67-year-old man, and I'm having lapses when I'm speaking. I've had people tell me that hey, that's what happens at 60, everything's OK.

It doesn't feel OK. I watched my father, and all of his siblings fade to gray. I have not had that test to see if I have early onset, I've not done it purposely.

Read this book. Or listen to it, on audible. It's done very well, and read by the author.

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Truly heart wrenching

I rarely cry from books, but this one is an exception. As it progresses, you feel the pain and loss right alone with the characters. If you have experienced a loved one declining mentally from dementia, this will hit you hard. I have not seen the film so cannot compare it to the book, but the book is well worth your time (and tears).

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