Still Alice

180 Pages·2009·0.7 MB·English

by  Lisa Genova

MORE PRAISE FOR LISA GENOVA’S POIGNANT AND ILLUMINATING DEBUT NOVEL,
STILL ALICE
“After I read Still Alice, I wanted to stand up and tell a train full of strangers, ‘You have to get this
book.’…I couldn’t put it down…. Still Alice is written not from the outside looking in, but from the
inside looking out…. [It] isn’t only about dementia. It’s about Alice, a woman beloved by her family
and respected by her colleagues, who in the end, is still Alice, not just her disease.”
—Beverly Beckham, The Boston Globe
“Still Alice is a heartbreakingly real depiction of a woman’s descent into early Alzheimer’s, so real,
in fact, that it kept me from sleeping for several nights. I couldn’t put it down. As a part-time
caregiver to a parent with dementia, I can say that Dr. Genova’s depiction seems spot-on, from the
subtle changes in everyday life to the ultimate changes in both patient and family. Still Alice is a story
that must be told.”
—Brunonia Barry, New York Times bestselling author of The Lace Reader
“At once agonizing and engrossing, this tale of brilliant Harvard psychology professor Alice
Howland’s descent into dementia grabs you from the first misfired neuron. With the clinician’s
precision of language and the master storyteller’s easy eloquence, Lisa Genova shines a searing
spotlight on this Alice’s surreal wonderland. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to read this
book. It will inform you. It will scare you. It will change you.”
—Julia Fox Garrison, author of Don’t Leave Me This Way
“I wish I could have read Lisa Genova’s masterpiece before my dad passed away following a ten-
year struggle with Alzheimer’s. I would have better understood and appreciated what was unfolding
in his confused and ravaged mind…. This book is as important as it is impressive and will grace the
lives of those affected by this dread disease for generations to come.”
—Phil Bolsta, author of Sixty Seconds
“An intensely intimate portrait of Alzheimer’s seasoned with highly accurate and useful information
about this insidious and devastating disease.”
—Dr. Rudolph E. Tanzi, coauthor of Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of
Alzheimer’s Disease
“Genova has brilliantly captured the subjective experience in this intimate story…. Touching and
informative.”
—Daniel Kuhn, author of Alzheimer’s Early Stages: First Steps for Families, Friends, and
Caregivers
“An ironic look at complicated family relationships, our hopes for future generations, and the essence
of life…. Whether or not you or someone in your family has dementia, Still Alice is a great read.”
—The Tangled Neuron
“Powerful, insightful, tragic, inspirational…and all too true. Genova has the great gift of insight,
imagination, and expression that allows her to pry open the fortress door and tell a story from a
perspective seldom spoken…. Her revealing insights into these deeply personal experiences show
true empathy and understanding not only of cognitive neuroscience and dementia, but also of the
human condition.”
—Alireza Atri, M.D., Ph.D., Neurologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, Memory Disorders Unit
“The experience of Alzheimer’s disease is a process of discovery. Readers, along with Alice, are
artfully and realistically led through this process, moving from the questions and concerns that
accompany unexplained memory difficulties to the experience of diagnosis and the impact of Alice’s
changing needs on relationships with her family and colleagues.”
—Peter Reed, Ph.D., Senior Director of Programs, Alzheimer’s Association
“Dementia is dark and ugly. Only a writer with a mastery of neuroscience and the grit, the empathy, of
an actor with Meisner training could get both the facts and the feelings right—the way I live it daily.
Still Alice is a laser precise light into the lives of people with dementia and the people who love
them.”
—Carole Mulliken, cofounder of DementiaUSA

Pocket Books
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2007, 2009 by Lisa Genova
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form
whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of
the Americas, New York, NY 10020
POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Information from the Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire was taken with permission from “The
Record of Independent Living” by Sandra Weintraub, Ph.D., in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s
Disease and Other Dementia, Vol. 1, No. 2, 35–39 (1986), a SAGE publication.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Genova, Lisa.
Still Alice / Lisa Genova.
p. c.m.
1. Alzheimer’s disease—Fiction. 2. Women college teachers—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3607.E55S75 2008
813'.6—dc22 2008030986
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-5703-9
ISBN-10: 1-4391-5703-0
Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com
In Memory of Angie
For Alena
Acknowledgments
I’m deeply grateful to the many people I’ve come to know through the Dementia Advocacy and
Support Network International and DementiaUSA, especially Peter Ashley, Alan Benson, Christine
Bryden, Bill Carey, Lynne Culipher, Morris Friedell, Shirley Garnett, Candy Harrison, Chuck
Jackson, Lynn Jackson, Sylvia Johnston, Jenny Knauss, Jaye Lander, Jeanne Lee, Mary Lockhart,
Mary McKinlay, Tracey Mobley, Don Moyer, Carole Mulliken, Jean Opalka, Charley Schneider,
James Smith, Jay Smith, Ben Stevens, Richard Taylor, Diane Thornton, and John Willis. Your
intelligence, courage, humor, empathy, and willingness to share what was individually vulnerable,
scary, hopeful, and informative have taught me so much. My portrayal of Alice is richer and more
human because of your stories.
I’d especially like to thank James and Jay, who have given me so much beyond the boundaries of
Alzheimer’s and this book. I am truly blessed to know you.
I’d also like to thank the following medical professionals, who generously shared their time,
knowledge, and imaginations, helping me to gain a true and specific sense for how events might
unfold as Alice’s dementia is discovered and progresses:
Dr. Rudy Tanzi and Dr. Dennis Selkoe for an in-depth understanding of the molecular biology of
this disease
Dr. Alireza Atri for allowing me to shadow him for two days in the Memory Disorders Unit at
Massachusetts General Hospital, for showing me your brilliance and compassion
Dr. Doug Cole and Dr. Martin Samuels for additional understanding of the diagnosis and
treatment of Alzheimer’s
Sara Smith for allowing me to sit in on neuropsychological testing
Barbara Hawley Maxam for explaining the role of the social worker and Mass General’s
Caregivers’ Support Group
Erin Linnenbringer for being Alice’s genetic counselor Dr. Joe Maloney and Dr. Jessica
Wieselquist for role-playing as Alice’s general practice physician
Thank you to Dr. Steven Pinker for giving me a look inside life as a Harvard psychology
professor and to Dr. Ned Sahin and Dr. Elizabeth Chua for similar views from the student’s seat.
Thank you to Dr. Steve Hyman, Dr. John Kelsey, and Dr. Todd Kahan for answering questions
about Harvard and life as a professor.
Thank you to Doug Coupe for sharing some specifics about acting and Los Angeles.
Thank you to Martha Brown, Anne Carey, Laurel Daly, Kim Howland, Mary MacGregor, and
Chris O’Connor for reading each chapter, for your comments, encouragement, and wild enthusiasm.
Thank you to Diane Bartoli, Lyralen Kaye, Rose O’Donnell, and Richard Pepp for editorial
feedback.
Thank you to Jocelyn Kelley at Kelley & Hall for being a phenomenal publicist.
An enormous thank-you to Beverly Beckham, who wrote the best review any self-published
author could dream of. And you pointed the way to Julia Fox Garrison.
Julia, I cannot thank you enough. Your generosity has changed my life.
Thank you to Vicky Bijur for representing me and for insisting that I change the ending. You’re
brilliant.
Thank you to Louise Burke, John Hardy, Kathy Sagan, and Anthony Ziccardi for believing in this
story.
I need to thank the very large and loud Genova family for shamelessly telling everyone you know
to buy your daughter’s/niece’s/cousin’s/sister’s book. You’re the best guerrilla marketers in the
world!
I also need to thank the not as large but arguably just as loud Seufert family for spreading the
word.
Last, I’d like to thank Christopher Seufert for technical and web support, for the original cover
design, for helping me make the abstract tangible, and so much more, but mostly, for giving me
butterflies.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
SEPTEMBER 2003
OCTOBER 2003
NOVEMBER 2003
DECEMBER 2003
JANUARY 2004
FEBRUARY 2004
MARCH 2004
APRIL 2004
MAY 2004
JUNE 2004
JULY 2004
AUGUST 2004
SEPTEMBER 2004
OCTOBER 2004
NOVEMBER 2004
DECEMBER 2004
JANUARY 2005
FEBRUARY 2005
MARCH 2005
APRIL 2005
MAY 2005
JUNE 2005
SUMMER 2005
SEPTEMBER 2005
EPILOGUE
POSTSCRIPT
Readers Club Guide for Still Alice