Turn of Mind

By: Alice LaPlante

Narrated by: Jean Reed Bahle

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

My name is Dr. Jennifer White. I am 64 years old. I have dementia. My son, Mark, is 29. My daughter, Fiona, 24. A caregiver, Magdalena, lives with me.

Alice LaPlante’s Turn of Mind is a spellbinding novel about the disintegration of a strong woman’s mind and the unhinging of her family. Dr. Jennifer White, recently widowed and a newly retired orthopedic surgeon, is entering the beginning stages of dementia — where the impossibility of recognizing reality can be both a blessing and a curse. As the story opens, Jennifer’s life-long friend and neighbor, Amanda, has been killed, and four fingers surgically removed. Dr. White is the prime suspect in the murder and she herself doesn’t know if she did it or not.

Narrated in her voice, fractured and eloquent, a picture emerges of the surprisingly intimate, complex alliance between this pair — two proud, forceful women who were at times each other’s most formidable adversaries. The women’s 30-year friendship deeply entangled their families, and as the narrative unfolds we see that things were not always as they seemed. Jennifer’s deceased husband, James, is clearly not the scion he was thought to be. Her two grown children — Mark, a lawyer, and Fiona, a professor, who now have power over their mother’s medical and financial decisions respectively — have agendas of their own. And Magdalena, her brusque live-in caretaker, has a past she hides. As the investigation intensifies, a chilling question persists: is Dr. Jennifer White’s shattered memory preventing her from revealing the truth or helping her to hide it?

Told through the voice of a woman with a powerful intellect that is maddeningly slipping away, Turn of Mind is not only a suspenseful psychological thriller that pulses with intensity but also a brilliant portrayal of the fragility of consciousness and memory, and of a mind finally turning on itself.

©2011 Alice LaPlante (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“ Turn of Mind is bursting with humanity, in full array. Impossible to put down and yet a book not only to be savored, but returned to. A glorious achievement.” (Jeffrey Lent)

Held captivated until the very end

I didn't know what to expect when my mother and I chose this book; my aunt had died of Alzheimer's and didn't know if if would hit close to home. My own personal history didn't matter, as the book is extremely well-written, and is basically a mystery of sort: Did the main character kill her neighbor, and will she be found out?

Alzheimer's is a complication that impedes the mystery story line in that way that only makes you want to read ahead to find out how it ends. I loved how LaPlante got us inside the main character's mind, taking us on the journey of dementia as well. Masterfully done.

I thought Bahle's performance was expert, distinguishing between all those voices was a challenge, but I was always able to follow along.

intriguing

great performance, good murder mystery. and oddly therapeutic, after having had many confusing conversations with a parent in the early stages of dementia.

I pictured Helen Mirren as the narrator

What a challenge for the author to tell a story like this from the point of view of a woman suffering from dementia! I thought it was very well done, indeed. I loved the very beginning when I didn't know who to trust any more than the main character did.

Inside an aging woman's mind

Dr. Jennifer White-Not Jenny and definitely not Jen as she eloquently says numerous times- is slowly losing her mind to dementia. This story, told entirely from the viewpoint of Jennifer White, with all her mental losses, is a wonderful but sad trek through the mind of a mother who cared more for her profession than her chidden.

She finally must go live in a care home for the mentally deteriorating but has left a mystery behind her. Along with two adult children who never overcame the lack of mothers love they experienced and as a result have serious problems.

This novel, narrated wonderfully by Jean Bahle-who really gives me the picture of haughty professor and superior surgeon in her reading-slowly moves through the downfall of Jennifer White and of her chidden, Mark and Fiona.

Although the story does move slowly and was hard, at the start, to get in to I became more involved in it as time passed and towards the end I was completely enthralled by it. This isn't a book for someone looking for a lot of action in their plots but instead requires the listener to get to know Jennifer as her character is developed.

As someone who is a peer of Dr Jennifer White, and who has had that missing car keys/forgotten appointment situation happen, I became very involved in the story as it progressed. This could happen to any of us as we age and it's not a pretty sight. LaPlante has taken this woman apart and put her fact together verbally for us to get to know. Do we like her? Trust her? And, finally, did she kill her friend as the police believe? Listen carefully to the details and see if you can figure out the end before you get there..I sure was surprised.

Dark but interesting

This book puts the reader in a "dark" place. My Mom is suffering from dementia and it gave me some insight into the disease and brought sadness to my heart. This is a story about a family and is narrated by the woman with dementia. There is very little "light" in this book. That being said, it held my attention but I was glad when I finished the book. It stays on your mind between readings and at times is a "downer". There is a murder in the book but the book is not about the murder specifically but about the main character's life.

Valuable Insight into Alzheimers

This book provides an interesting – if tragic – insight into the mind of an Alzheimer’s sufferer. Dr Jennifer White, a retired orthopaedic surgeon, has contracted the illness, and shares her thoughts and feelings in the first person. Perhaps for the first time, one gets an inkling of the hopelessness of dementia. The frustration and heartache involved.

Its not often one gets to read this combo, a thriller paired with the comprehension and understanding of the fragile mind losing its battle against the gradual destruction and impairment caused by a mental illness.

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the experiences surrounding this disease. In addition, a family secret keeps the reader/listener entertained. I was kept guessing to the end.

The structure flows easily and is never jarring or irritating. I would disagree with those reviewers who found the beginning slow and difficult to get into. On the contrary, I found it gripping …. (‘There are people I don’t know, sitting in my house….’) What a strange feeling that must be!

Ms Bahle does an excellent job of narrating, and has the perfect voice for the part. Elderly, brittle, but never grating.

All round, a 9-hour session well spent, and 4 Stars definitely deserved.

A very realistic depiction ...

...of a person who has Alzheimer's / dementia. This story accurately relayed the ups and downs of a mind that is no longer holding on to what is real and what is not and what has happened a few minutes prior. Dr. Jennifer has her moments of lucidness and when she did not, she was very difficult to deal with. This story was a very well-done murder mystery, whose solving of the murder of Jennifer's best friend was held to the very end.

Great performance but dull story

This book was nothing like I thought it would be. While it did show very interesting insight into the mind of someone with dementia, the story line was quite dull. I kept expecting something exciting to happen and nothing did. I listen to books while I'm on long drives so that I stay awake. This was not the book for that. The ending was so anticlimactic that I wanted to just throw my iPhone out of the window. Luckily I gathered my wits and didn't do that. Boring, boring, boring.

Slow and Uneventful

What would have made Turn of Mind better?

This book has no climax. If you want to see into the mind of a woman with dementia then read this book. If you are expecting an intriguing story, look elsewhere.