Still Alice by Lisa Genova - 1279 Words

Lisa Genova, the author of Still Alice, a heartbreaking book about a 50-year-old womans sudden diagnosis of Alzheimers disease, graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She is a member of the Dementia Advocacy, Support Network International and Dementia USA and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimers Association. Genovas work with Alzheimers patients has given her an understanding of the disorder and its affect not only on the patient, but on their friends and family as well (Simon and Schuster, n.d.). Alzheimer’s disease was first defined in 1906 by a German psychiatrist, Alois Alzheimer. Alzheimers disease is the most common†¦show more content†¦In the book, Still Alice, Alice Howland is happily married to a successful husband with three grown children with a house on the Cape. Alice is a Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices forgetfulness creeping into her life. As her memory begins to fail and confusion starts to darken her thinking, Alice receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimers disease. Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle even as her sense of self is being stripped away, and she tries to live in the moment, Still Alice captures what it is like literally to lose your mind (Genova, 2007). When Alice begins to grow forgetful at first she discards it, but when she gets lost in her own neighborhood, she realizes that something is terribly wrong. She didnt want to become someone people avoided and feared. She wanted to live to hold her daughter, Anna’s, baby and know she was holding her grandchild. She wanted to watch her youngest daughter, Lydia act in something she was proud of. She wanted to see her son, Tom, fall in love. She wanted to be able to read every book she could before she could no longer read. Alice once placed her worth and identity in her academic life, now she must examine her relationship with her husband, her expectations of her daughters and son and her plans for herself. â€Å"Losing her yesterdays, her short-term memory hanging on by a couple of frayed threads, sheShow MoreRelated`` Still Alice By Lisa Genova1131 Words   |  5 PagesAfter gaining a PHD in Neuroscience at Harvard University, Lisa Genova has written numerous fiction no vels themed around her speciality of Mental Health. Lisa’s inspiration to write ‘Still Alice’ was for two reasons; firstly the trauma of witnessing her grandmother ‘disassembled’ and turned from a vibrant and intelligent woman into someone who neither recognised herself nor her life. Secondly, whilst studying Lisa became fascinated in understanding how a person with Alzheimer’s Disease really feelsRead MoreThe Ethical Analysis Assignment Is Still Alice By Lisa Genova1618 Words   |  7 PagesSummary The book that I chose for the Ethical Analysis assignment is Still Alice by Lisa Genova. The book revolves around, Alice Howland, a 50 year-old linguistics professor at Harvard University. In the beginning of the book, Alice seems to be in perfect health. She runs frequently and seems to be in great physical shape, but she soon realizes that something isn’t quite right. Alice begins forgetting small things, such as to sending an email to someone in her department for work, which she attributesRead MoreStill Alice1174 Words   |  5 Pagesas a nurse in my country Colombia and Spain with Alzheimer disease patients. Day by day I came to know each patient’s story because every day they were living the moment without remember the last minute. This is also what happened to Lisa Genova’s novel Still Alice. The protagonists is a 50 year old woman, a very well organized, efficient, highly-educated, and smart Harvard professor, wife of a successful man, and the mother of three grown children, who has diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’sRead MoreDr. Alice Howland Is A Thoroughly Modern Middle Aged Professional Woman1540 Words   |  7 PagesDr. Alice Howland is a thoroughly modern, middle-aged professional woman. A brilliant, psycholinguist, she is the William James Professor of Psychology at Harvard University where she studies the mechanism of languages. But she feels as if something isn t right. For Alice it begins with forgotten words during lectures, a moment in Harvard Square where she has no idea where she is nor how to get home, a forgotten trip to the airport to catch a plane to a conference she d spent the day preparingRead MoreStill Alice Paper1437 Words   |  6 Pagesthe genes and the environment. Alice Howland is a highly esteemed professor at Harvard University living comfortably with John Howland her husband and three children. The first signs of dementia start showing up when she can’t find her cell phone and she th inks this is normal as her husband normally misplaced his keys, then she becomes disoriented in her home town, and is baffled when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages. We feel for Alice because how she deteriorates andRead MoreA Literary Analysis Of Still Alice3068 Words   |  13 Pagesï » ¿A Literary Analysis of Still Alice Still Alice (Genova, 2009) is a captivating debut novel about a 50-year-old woman’s sudden decline into early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The book is written by first time author Lisa Genova, who holds a PH.D in neuroscience from Harvard University. She’s also an online columnist for the national Alzheimer’s association. Her other books include Left Neglected and Love Anthony. She lives with her husband and two children in Cape Cod. The theme of the book is relatedRead MoreStill Alice. Living With An Insidious Cognitive Declining1656 Words   |  7 PagesStill Alice Living with an insidious cognitive declining illness, individuals diagnosed with early onset familial Alzheimer’s disease often fear losing their sense of self (Borrello et al. 2495). This theme is carried out in the film through the character of Alice, a 50 year old linguistics professor at Columbia University. The inevitable decline in memory, communication, and eventually independence strike those with the disease (Borrello et al. 2494), which will quickly affect not only themselvesRead MoreInfluence Of Mental Health And Families, Friends, And Other Close Personal Relationships1585 Words   |  7 Pagesbecause my family and I lost my grandfather to Alzheimer s, and how his progression and eventual passing affected our lives. As well as a movie, in particular, called Still Alice (2014) was based on a novel published by Lisa Genova in 2009. The movie portrays what mental illness can do to a family. The plot revolves around Alice Howland, who is a linguistics professor and was diagnosed with early onset. It reflects how her symptoms affected the relationship with her family members, and how theirRead MoreAlice Howland, A Professor Of Linguistics At Columbia University2111 Words   |  9 PagesThis screenplay follows the protagonist Alice Howland, who is a professor of linguistics at Columbia University. Alice Howland is later diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, which turns her world completely upside down; especially given her career and ambitious nature. She becomes unable to perform normal everyday activities, and struggles with the loss of her independence. Alice’s husband, John, who is a physician, attempts to act as a guide for her through this time, but it ultimately