Preview
  • Still Alice

  • By: Lisa Genova
  • Narrated by: Lisa Genova
  • Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (7,083 ratings)

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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)

What listeners say about Still Alice

Average customer ratings
Overall
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Story
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful story.

I normally do not like to listen to books read by the author but within 15 minutes of listening I was so engrossed in this story that I no longer noticed the author’s pleasant voice. Alice’s children and husband seemed very human to me in their responses to her decline. The love and understanding that grew between Alice and her daughters as she declined was beautifully portrayed. I have cared for a parent with dementia but still felt I learned much from this book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Heartbreaking story, so-so delivery

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

This story really touches me and brings a personal tough to those living with dementia.

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

I love how the book transitions awareness because it is written from the perspective of Alice as her mind changes.

What three words best describe Lisa Genova’s voice?

The author's voice is pleasant, but her delivery is monotone or "bored" sounding at times. I wish it has been a bit more lively.

If you could rename Still Alice, what would you call it?

The title is perfect as it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

such a wonderfully moving story

unrelentingly good. evicts such emotion. found myself taking rides just so I could keep listening.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Necessary and Well Done Book

Would you listen to Still Alice again? Why?

Yes, I already have.

What did you like best about this story?

Having known a couple of people with early onset Alzheimers, I thought she did an excellent job of creating a realistic novel.

What about Lisa Genova’s performance did you like?

When I read the book in print I liked it , but with the nuances in the tone of her voice, I felt I understood her depiction of the various characters portrayed in the book much better. now I love the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderfully written and Read

Enjoy the book very much, was very informative and insightful as a care giver of many people of this horrible disease. I got very emotional at the end

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story. Weak narration.

What did you love best about Still Alice?

Good story but barely made it through for the narration. Weak narration makes it hard to connect to the characters.

How could the performance have been better?

Sounds like a high school girl reading aloud, the it should the voice of a 50 year old woman. Lacks emotion and maturity that surely would be present in this story. Needs professional narration. Story suffers in audio version. Audible should re-record.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story, narration diminished it

What an insightful glimpse into the life of a woman and family dealing with early onset Alzheimer's. I would have given it five stars, but the narrator (in this case the author) diminished highly emotional content by not reading with any kind of expression.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unsentimental but very moving!

This is an unsentimental but very moving account of a highly intelligent woman who develops early onset Alzheimer's. The author's narration is somewhat flat and detached but this suited the spare, understated style of the writing. A very compelling listen!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tear Jerker

If you could sum up Still Alice in three words, what would they be?

Enlightening; Heartbreaking; Frightening

Any additional comments?

This was universally loved by all members f my book club. In discussion we discovered we all have been touched by Alzheimer's in some way. While reading a book from the perspective of the victim was difficult and scary, it helped each of us come to understand a little more about this terrible disease. Beautifully written story.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Terrifying

I have been lately wishing I had never read this book because every time I forget something I’m pretty sure I have Alzheimer’s. This is the tragic story of a brilliant woman who lost herself at age 50 to early onset Alzheimer’s. She had so much of her life before her and so much she still wanted to accomplish. It is a heartbreaking disease, perhaps more for the ones who love the victim than the victim herself. I had a dear aunt who had Alzheimer’s for the last five years of her life. I first noticed the symptoms when I went to see her in the hospital. I said, conversationally, that she would be going home soon and she responded with fear and sadness that she couldn’t remember if she had a home. That is a different kind of forgetting. You don’t really forget things. You forget your self until your self is gone. Or as my aunt so succinctly put it one day, “I just feel so . . . Lost.” What a tragedy!

I’m already too old to get early onset Alzheimer’s but I hope and pray no form of it is in my future, and I can just grow old and pass away the way my parents did. But I guess we don’t really get that choice, do we?

In terms of great literature, I would not say it is the greatest book, but I can say it had a huge impact on my life and I will forever be changed for having read it.

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