Still Alice tells the story of Harvard Professor Alice Howland. Published author, celebrated scholar, trusted professor…as she approaches fifty she starts to become increasingly disorientated and forgetful. Always used to being busy, she sees this as part of her lifestyle and a warning to slow down. Thinking she may be menopausal she goes to her doctor for advice.
Then Alice is told she has early onset Alzheimer’s.
Told from her perspective – which becomes increasingly vague as she degenerates – there is no doubt that this book highlights the cruelty of Alzheimer’s. At any age this is a horrible disease to watch progress, and it’s particularly scary in the way it’s presented in someone who has a clear neurological advantage over many.
Watching Alice slowly withdraw from everything that made her who she was felt tough. Seeing the way her family responded to her illness felt authentic, and it is a definite emotional ride.
This is certainly a story that sticks. I was frustrated by the ending, though I’m not sure I’d have enjoyed reading further into Alice’s decline. It was good to see some of her wishes fulfilled, and be left to wonder what came next.