Still Alice Discussion

[julialovespugs]

OK, I've never started one of these, but I'll do my best. What did you guys think of the book?

I thought it was interesting that the author made Alice a Harvard professor of psychology. Somehow it was all the sadder to watch such a brilliant person losing their cognitive function.

What did you think of the way the author kept writing from Alice's perspective, even though we were getting less and less of the story in a sense?

[starsailor26]

I thought it was a really great book. It was well written and well researched. It was tragic to see Alice going through the initial and then worsening stages of Alzheimers. I thought it was interesting how her colleague assumed she had substance abuse issues until she told him about the diagnosis.

For me, the most heartbreaking part was the first time Alice does not recognize her youngest daughter. Her relationship with her children was so complex, each relationship different. I loved seeing that side of the story and how the family dynamics changed with Alice's diagnosis.

The only parts I didn't enjoy were how Alice's husband acted. It seemed like John wanted to fix her, and had no real regard for her as a person. That was especially true when he wanted to move to New York because she didn't know where she was anyway.

I think having Alice as the narrator was really well done and despite everything she was a reliable narrator. For example, when Alice repeats herself in a work lunch meeting and doesn't realize it, when she sits in her classroom as a student and leaves, when she forgets people she's already met. You realize what is going on and the fact that she has no idea what just happened drives the point home so much more.

[starsailor26]

I have a few questions to add, from the back of the book

What did you think of Alice's decision to overdose once her condition deteriorated to the point where she could no longer answer her own questions?

Alice's youngest daughter decides not to find out whether she is a carrier of the gene. In her position, would you want to know?

What did you think of the ending?

I didn't agree or disagree with the decision to OD, but I did have a feeling she wouldn't go through with it one way or another.If I were in that position, I would definitely want to know, especially because of my own children. Even when I was younger and without kids, I would want to have known. I didn't love the ending, but I also realize it ended on that note so the reader would know there wasn't much hope for Alice to improve based on the results of the trial.

One last thing, I loved Alice's speech at the conference. It was really moving and beautifully written, it was one of the last times you saw traces of the brilliant person she was.

[julialovespugs]

I do agree with Alice's decision to kill herself once she lost most cognitive function. I wonder if the husband put the Blackberry in the freezer? I suspect he did because he knew of her plan. Also, later when he asks her if she's happy she's still there, I feel like he's asking her if he did the right thing. She answered more literally and said, "yes, I'm not done with my ice cream yet". Still, I felt she was validating his action.

I think he was actually right that fully functioning Alice would have agreed with his move to NY. However, I think the illness brought out the essential Alice for awhile. Like when she told her youngest daughter that she didn't have to do what her father told her to do. Even though Alice had been the one pressuring her, before the illness. In the same sense, she wanted to spend the last of her quality time with her husband in the place she knew.

I was also glad that Alice got to hold her grandchildren and to regain a close relationship with her youngest child. I would have had to know if I carried the gene that caused the disease.

[Crisco Salad]

I think it was a powerful decision of the author to have Alice be the narrator. I loved that it seemed to give you true insight into the mind of an Alzheimer's patient.

John pissed me off. From the very beginning, before Alice even knew that she was sick. Like, he wouldn't be home to see her when she got home from traveling. The whole thing with moving to New York really pissed me off. He made it seem like she wasn't even going to be a person anymore.

I really loved how the story of Alice and Lydia evolved. They grew so much as a mother-daughter duo. It warmed my heart for Lydia that she was able to have that with Alice.