The "Alzheimer's Movie"

There are hundreds and hundreds of books on the topic of the AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease, the brain and brain health. But there are few novels that feature the disease as its central plot.
One single novel stands out.
ΓÇ£Still AliceΓÇ¥ is the best-selling book written by first-time author Lisa Genova, a Harvard-educated neuroscientist. Published in 2009, ΓÇ£Still AliceΓÇ¥ is a moving, compelling and heart-breaking work of fiction that totally captures the experience of early-onset AlzheimerΓÇÖs. If you have not read it, I highly recommend you do.
This book will move you to tears. But more than that, you will be transported on a journey that is AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease. Well-written and accurate, the book never ventures into the maudlin, which would be an easy path to follow. Instead, the characters resonate and the story seamlessly unfolds.

I donΓÇÖt want to reveal any spoilers, but like every AlzheimerΓÇÖs journey there are gifts and healing that emerge from the dark.

Even so, you will probably shed some tears. I know I did.

HereΓÇÖs a brief description from the Amazon website:

“Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what’s it’s like to literally lose your mind…”

As you can obviously tell, I am a big fan of ΓÇ£Still Alice.ΓÇ¥ So when I heard several weeks ago that it was being made into a movie, with a 2015 release, I felt conflicted.On the one hand, IΓÇÖm thrilled this novel will now reach an even wider audience. When a movie comes out, that usually results in a resurgence of book sales.

The flip side is more complicated.

IΓÇÖm an avid reader and when I love a book ΓÇö really LOVE a book ΓÇö it becomes part of me.

If I see the screen adaptation, I usually have the weird feeling IΓÇÖm betraying the book I adored.

If you are a serious book-lover you can certainly relate. If you are not, then you probably stopped reading after the word ΓÇ£plotΓÇ¥ in the first paragraph.

In any case, you should read ΓÇÿStill AliceΓÇÖ if you havenΓÇÖt already. IΓÇÖll leave it to you if you want to venture out to see the movie. I hear it will feature some great actors ΓÇö Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin and Kate Bosworth.

When “Still Alice,” the movie, is released, IΓÇÖll read the reviews and decide if I want to see it. If I do see the movie, I will inevitably feel like IΓÇÖm cheating. However, at the end of the night I always come home to the book.

There are hundreds and hundreds of books on the topic of the AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease, the brain and brain health. But there are few novels that feature the disease as its central plot.
One single novel stands out.
ΓÇ£Still AliceΓÇ¥ is the best-selling book written by first-time author Lisa Genova, a Harvard-educated neuroscientist. Published in 2009, ΓÇ£Still AliceΓÇ¥ is a moving, compelling and heart-breaking work of fiction that totally captures the experience of early-onset AlzheimerΓÇÖs. If you have not read it, I highly recommend you do.

This book will move you to tears. But more than that, you will be transported on a journey that is AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease. Well-written and accurate, the book never ventures into the maudlin, which would be an easy path to follow. Instead, the characters resonate and the story seamlessly unfolds.
I donΓÇÖt want to reveal any spoilers, but like every AlzheimerΓÇÖs journey there are gifts and healing that emerge from the dark.
Even so, you will probably shed some tears. I know I did.

HereΓÇÖs a brief description from the Amazon website:
“Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what’s it’s like to literally lose your mind…”

As you can obviously tell, I am a big fan of ΓÇ£Still Alice.ΓÇ¥ So when I heard several weeks ago that it was being made into a movie, with a 2015 release, I felt conflicted.On the one hand, IΓÇÖm thrilled this novel will now reach an

even wider audience. When a movie comes out, that usually results in a resurgence of book sales.The flip side is more complicated.
IΓÇÖm an avid reader and when I love a book ΓÇö really LOVE a book ΓÇö it becomes part of me.
If I see the screen adaptation, I usually have the weird feeling IΓÇÖm betraying the book I adored.

If you are a serious book-lover you can certainly relate. If you are not, then you probably stopped reading after the word ΓÇ£plotΓÇ¥ in the first paragraph.

In any case, you should read ΓÇÿStill AliceΓÇÖ if you havenΓÇÖt already. IΓÇÖll leave it to you if you want to venture out to see the movie. I hear it will feature some great actors ΓÇö Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin and Kate Bosworth.

When “Still Alice,” the movie, is released, IΓÇÖll read the reviews and decide if I want to see it. If I do see the movie, I will inevitably feel like IΓÇÖm cheating. However, at the end of the night I always come home to the book.

Nancy Wurtzel, a communications professional, is the editor of the blog DatingDementia.com, about midlife issues, including divorce, dating and caring for an elderly parent with AlzheimerΓÇÖs.