Still Alice - Lisa Genova

Alice is just fifty when she finds herself in a downward spiral, increasingly disorientated and forgetful. A university professor, wife and mother of three, she has books to write, places to see, grandchildren to meet. But now a tragic diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer;s disease is set to change her life - and her relationship with her family and the world - forever.

Losing her yesterdays, living for each day, her short-term memory is hanging by a frayed thread. But she is still Alice.

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I have read one or two Lisa Genova novels before and they were brilliant. She writes about very emotive subjects all of which has the potential to affect anyone of us.

The story of Alice is about a fifty year old University Professor who starts to realise she is having problems with her memory and forgetting the silliest of things.  She visits her doctor expecting her to say this is a result of the menopause. Her doctor refers Alice for more tests the results of which reveal that she has early-onset Alzheimer's disease. This was not what Alice was expecting at all.  Alice's world crashes around her. She soon realises that she will have to give up her post at Harvard, but hasn't quite realised the impact having this disease is going to have on her and her family. She is terrified that before too long she won't recognise her husband or her own children. 

I found this novel to be equally as brilliant as the other Lisa Genova novels I have read and at times it even made me question myself when I couldn't remember the simplest of things. We all have that getting to the top of the stairs not able to remember why we went up there in the first place moments don't we? 

Still Alice has also been made into a film, when I saw the trailers I didn't  associate the film to the book as it had been residing on my bookshelf for a while. I haven't seen the film so I don't know how true it has stayed to the book but now I have read it I may just have to watch the DVD especially as I am a fan of Julianne Moore.

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Tuesday was a very exciting day.  WHY? I hear you ask. Well if you have spent the whole week down a well then you may not have realised that on Tuesday 14th July was the release date of the long awaited sequel to 'To Kill A Mocking Bird' by Harper Lee.  I say sequel but I'm not quite sure this is right.  My understanding is that some 50+ years ago Harper Lee wrote 'Go Set A Watchman' in which she tells the story of Jean Louise (Scout) as an adult returning to see her father Atticus. My understanding was she wasn't happy with it at the time and subsequently it went in a draw until it was rediscovered but went on to release 'To Kill A Mocking Bird'. So you can understand my confusion can't you?

Needless to say when I arrived home on Tuesday evening there was my copy of Go Set A Watchman, delivered as promised on the day of release by Amazon. 

I have been very good and finished Still Alice first but I'm afraid that 'Go Set A Watchman' has definitely queue jumped a head of those novels still residing on the bookshelf , but I still have at least 7 weeks before the kids go back to school and Autumn Term begins so plenty of time to continue working through my Summer reads right?

Happy reading one and all

Mx