Still Alice By Lisa Genova

A child. The most important thing in a parent’s life is their child. They live to protect, to shelter and to rear them. But imagine the subconscious revulsion you feel when you see your child as a stranger. You look at your husband, and you see just a man. Your house, a labyrinth. These are symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, which you might associate with the elderly. In the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova, that’s what Alice thought, until she was diagnosed at age 50. It is hard to imagine all the books fell into abeyance, but in the event it does, I would save this book. Why would I save this book in particular? I feel that the empowering values possessed by Alice are not only important for people with Alzheimer’s disease, but for anyone who is feeling hopeless. In this book, Alice tried, to her best ability, to stay positive. She kept herself and her family from breaking down, making them appreciate the time she had left before the disease took her life. That doesn’t mean she didn’t try to fight the disease. As a professor at Harvard, she conducted research into the disease and took it upon herself to find the best solution for herself and her family.
Another quality this book perfectly demonstrates is love.
The bond shared between the gradually parting family is reinforced as they put their vendettas aside to spend time with their mother. Lisa Genova established this with all the characters, but most strongly with Lynda Howland, Alice’s most naïve and wide-eyed daughter. In the beginning of the essay, Alice is shown to disapprove of Lynda’s decisions. The two had very different ideas; Lynda wanting to take a risk and try to become an actress while Alice wanting her to go to college. Lynda appears to be the most distant from Alice, however, by the end, they appear to be the closest. The two are emotionally drawn to each other, Lynda realizing she has ignored a woman. A woman she never knew she would lose so
soon. Why would I choose a fiction book over a nonfiction, such as an encyclopedia? I feel like knowledge is important. It is important to the advancement of our society. However, I feel the happiness of our lives is more important. Fiction books, like Still Alice, teach us moral values that are important to living lives we enjoy. Love is arguably one of the most important values to share with a person. Love is a connection that cannot be put into words, something that is unfathomably devastating to loose. Another quality, which is almost as important, is the ability to never succumb to the negative. As shown by Alice and the other characters, the scaffolding never collapsed despite the punishing forces places upon it. Everybody remained positive and resolute despite the definite, bleak future for Alice. Lisa Genova perfectly painted a beautiful picture in Still Alice that a reader will find inspiring and motivating, which is why I would save this book if all the others were to fall into oblivion.