Vegas Discusses “Still Alice”
When our book club, Vegas, decided to read Still Alice by Lisa Genova, I was a little skeptical. My thoughts were something like, “Here we go. Harvard neuroscientist writes a book about Alzheimer’s. It’s going to be dry and boring”. I have never been so wrong. (Well, maybe once , but that’s another story!) This is the first time in all my years as a book club member that I have given a book a 10.
Alice is a Harvard professor who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The story is written from her perspective which can be totally terrifying. We, as women of a certain age, identified with many of her feelings and fears. We cried when she said to her husband, “I miss me”. We laughed when she had trouble with her sports bra. We were moved when she held her grandchild. We were frightened as we watched this brilliant woman deteriorate.
One of our members shared stories of a friend’s mother who had early onset Alzheimer’s. She felt that Still Alice accurately portrayed a family’s experience as they struggle to deal with the debilitating disease. She and I spoke on the phone this morning and decided that we should call an emergency meeting because there was so much more to discuss. All Vegas members rated Still Alice 9.5 or 10 – a new high for our club!
If you haven’t read Still Alice, we highly recommend it. If you have, please share your thoughts here. Our next selection is the Pulitzer Prize winning The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. Read along with us!