Still Alice

By: Lisa Genova

Narrated by: Lisa Genova

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

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)

Wonderful read.

This was a beautiful and touching book. I loved how it was written from the perspective of the patient with Alzheimer’s. I highly recommend this book.

Great Book

This was written in the perspective of a person with Alzheimer’s disease. It gives the reader the ability to understand the mind of the person with all timers..

Well told

I liked the perspective of Alice, I thought the writer did well in explaining the characters emotions.

Amazing story!

This is a wonderful story that helps you to feel how it would be to have dementia and is great for anyone that cares for someone with that disease

Still Alice

This book is more than a description of Alzheimer's. It is an interesting look into the mind/opinions of someone that has has to deal with a devastating diagnosis. Throughout the story we experience with Alice how it feels to deal with memory loss. We also catch glimpses of how the family changes and deals with the illness. It is not at all a depressing story. There is much humor and I laughed out loud more than once. This story reminds us that life changes and we change along with it.
Alice was read by the author so the audio is not as polished as some of the other audio books I have listened to, but still a fine listen.

Great story, poor narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would only recommend this audiobook to a friend if he/she didn't have time to read the actual book. The story is excellent and heartwrenching so it's worth reading. Listening to it is a drab monotone experience.

How could the performance have been better?

Had the narrator actually performed the dialogue instead of simply reading it, I would have connected to the story much more. This is a highly emotional story and it doesn't translate through the narrator's voice.

A Surprising Page Turner..if we were turning pages

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would highly recommend it to everyone. It's a beautiful story of a family that changes through the illness of one member. It's well written...not flowery and not technical....factual yet not dry. I couldn't stay away from it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Still Alice?

When the main character went from referering to her husband as John, to the guy that owns the house. There is one point after she began doing that where Ali seems to have a real grip for a moment in time . She thinks about how this ending to their story wasn't planned and so unexpected. She knows she doesn't have the thought process to get everything out to John on how she feels but does manage to say enough to her husband. I could hardly contain myself with emotion.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

It was like having a book read to you by Daphne from Scooby-do. That is how her voice sounds and how I pictured the reader in my head. No inflection in her voice....ever monitone....nasally,verging on a whine. If the content was not so good, I would be complaining. She would have done her book so much more justice had she left the narration to someone else.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

First, give the lead to Meryl Streep. for a tag line - A few surprising years of a remarkable life.

Fantastic book!! Bad narrating

I applaud her writing!! The book itself was great. I wish they would have gotten a professional reader. It was monotone and very distracting. She wrote a wonderful book. So informative! I found myself taking the tests from the neurologist right along with Alice. I hope she keeps writing. Please leave the narration to the professionals.

Questionable narration

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and loved the character development. While I acknowledge an author's desire to narrate her own work, I found the delivery to be flat, emotionless and lacking. I would have preferred to listen to this very heartbreaking tale told by a more seasoned and professional narrator.

A Must Read for all Women over 50

What did you love best about Still Alice?

What is our greatest fear? Yes, this is it. This is a truly believable, sad story, that deals with the scariest topic for us women over 50. But, it's not just sad, it offers information, which is always comforting. Still thinking about it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Still Alice?

How her children handled it.

What about Lisa Genova’s performance did you like?

Perfect.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No....too much processing needed for me.

Any additional comments?

Thank you.