A devastating disease, as seen from the inside
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Posted on: 03/05/09
A devastating disease, as seen from the inside
Still Alice by Lisa Genova is one of those books that everyone should read and discuss. Genova gives a view of Alzheimer’s from the perspective of a victim of the disease. What at first appears an unlikely possibility turns into an amazing read. Further, a neuroscientist herself, Genova is also able to offer readers real, factual information regarding the progress of the disease. I remember hearing that Alzheimer’s victims eventually die when their organs forget how to work. That made no sense to me—organs are an involuntary action, how can they forget? Well, Genova explains that Alzheimer’s actually eats holes in your brain (ok, she’s far more scientific) so that the part needed to run the organs eventually just goes. She also offers some stark advice (in the form of the doctor talking to the victim’s husband) regarding the treatments currently available. It’s a heart-wrenching novel, but then, so is the disease. What I think is most powerful is that, for the many caregivers and relatives and friends out there (I’m one) of someone with Alzheimer’s, this book can help us to understand a little better what the victim’s are experiencing—why they might do unreasonable things or express sudden anger. It did for me.
Books I have read. . .
Books I have read. . .
This page is a space for me to share information on what I've read and think is worth reading. A warning, I read a LOT. As in, choosing between books and food, I'd probably choose books. People can last twenty three days without food, painful, but possible. Twenty three days without books, scare me! My reading tends towards fiction (I even have two novel drafts and a short story I kind of like) but I also read nonfiction pieces. My favorite authors are too many to list but a few: Barbara Kingsolver, Sandra Cisneros, Junot Diaz, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chris Bohjalian, Rosario Castellano, Isabel Allende, Marcela Serrano, Jared Diamond, Amy Tan, and Margaret Atwood. Oh, there I go. . .
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