Still Alice by Lisa Genova

About the front:
I don’t know what it is about this cover, but I loved the simplicity. I saw a butterfly wing and all the blue, mixed with all the white. I remember from sixth grade, when we used to color in pictures, that our teacher would say, “Don’t leave any white space.” Because by leaving white space, we weren’t completing the project — it was being lazy I think. In any case, I don’t see that here. I see something altogether different that just makes me look at it. I’m not 100% sure what’s there beyond the butterfly wing (or what looks like one). Now, butterflies aren’t ‘still’, so I’m wondering if that has anything to do with the title. I have no true sense of what the book is about, but in this case it’s the colors and white space that call to me.

Now let’s look at what the back says:

Genova’s debut revolves around Alice Howland – Harvard professor, gifted researcher and lecturer, wife, and mother of three grown children. One day, Alice sets out for a run and soon realizes she has no idea how to find her way home. It’s a route she has taken for years, but nothing looks familiar. She is utterly lost. Is her forgetfulness the result of menopausal symptoms? A ministroke? A neurological cancer? After a few doctors’ appointments and medical tests, Alice has her diagnosis, and it’s a shocker — she has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

What follows is the story of Alice’s slow but inevitable loss of memory and connection with reality, told from her perspective. She gradually loses the ability to follow a conversational thread, the story line of a book, or to recall information she heard just moments before. To Genova’s great credit, readers learn of the progression of Alice’s disease through the reactions of others, as Alice does, so they feel what she feels — a slowly building terror.

Does it match? Front to Back without the in between?
LOVE this. This is not my usual read, but I gotta say, I absolutely love the sound of this book. I’ve already put it on my Goodreads list along with the 21,000 other people who have. 🙂 The way the blurb is written already pulls at my heartstrings. It’s a fate I worry about for my parents, myself, my kids — even without any reason to believe it could or will happen. The story has touched a point within me that resonates. I can already imagine the torment and seeing it in the reactions from others is exactly how I imagine would be the most effective. I can’t wait to read this one.

Where I’d read it
Curled up with a blankie and probably a bunch of tissues.

Will you add it to your bookshelf virtual or otherwise? Share in the comments!

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Buy it at: local bookstore or Amazon Barnes & Noble AllRomance BooksOnBoard	Coming 12/1/2011!	Coming 3/1/2012!