Essay-Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Alice grew and evolved magic spell everybody else changed Before reading Still Alice, I did non know this is what Alzheimers patients went with. I had no clue. I thought they were screw ridden and depressed, secluded in a dark room. But, for Alice this was life and while she grew and developed, somewhat others to a greater extent or slight her changed. Her relationships with her family and colleagues changed. Lisa Genova could not confuse picked a better disease. I designate it was a blessing in disguise for Alice. Of course not to say that she should bewilder gotten it.But, if she had cancer or ALS deal what Morrie had in Mitch Alboms Tuesdays with Morrie, Alice would take been a hero. On the contrary, she was repulsed and repelled by her society and her husband failed to understand her. This do her a stronger woman. She grew because she had dementia. Throughout the book, Genova reiterates that we hazard of success in terms of flight and credentials. I am not imperv ious to that either. A person who is on the face of it really advanced in his or her career is deemed prosperous and the heap, who guide behind the scenes for example, being a mother, are not.Of course, Alice had a very successful career at Harvard. But, when she no longer wore the imaginary blue palm tree, she was no longer worth the respect and attention she apply to subscribe. roughly everybodys attitude changed towards her. Alice had recalled them as people who supported each other through slumps of negative data and grant rejection, through waves of crippling self-doubt, through illness and divorce. Only this illness was any other but Alzheimers. not only do some people have this attitude towards the disease, I realized that Alzheimers patients do not have many resources to arrest with.As a society we have not paid attention to inventing some neat gad demoralizes for patients that will allow them to recall important information for example, the directions to their pu t up or the bathroom they could not find. Plus, she could not even find a support group for herself. Strangely, they had a support group for caregivers but, not for patients. So, she met Mary, Cathy and Dan. They in addition complained that their reputations had suffered at work. People associate the change in behavior of Alzheimer patients with join abuse or a result of domestic problems.Eric Wellman thought like that. Dan, Alices research student was the only person in her pedantic circle, who respected her and demonstrated her big finish in career. After all, she was commensurate to inspire him to carry on her work. The changes in her society did not stopover at her career. Interestingly, as Alices disease evolved, her personal relationships did too. John, with whom she had spent her wide-cut life, grew further from her. His fiddling with the wedding ring in the doctors office showed his weakness of faith in their marriage after Alice was diagnosed.The accompaniment that h e could not see her change when she had learned to be less stubborn astir(predicate) what she gets from Jerris was a sign that he treasured to live with and missed the old Alice. I think he had cried more times than anybody else in her family. It was hardest for him to cope with her illness. Perhaps because he was too low-level on herthe moment when he could not find his glasses, he unavoid fit Alice as Genova beautifully elaborated in the first divide. But, if Alice, the master of recalling things, were to retreat that quality, how was he to function in that marriage? This was ironic.As John grew apart from her, I think the void was filled by Lydiathe child Alice knew the least. Where John reckoned with her noetic capabilities and loved her for that, Lydia connected with her mothers renewed emotional intelligence. Thats why I think she decided to join college after Alice had brought up the subject again. After all, she could trust her mother now. But, I was surprised when Ly dia refused to get tested for the disease. I think there are pros and cons of cunning. I would demand to know. So, that I can get my act together and accomplish what I need to before I am no longer able to.It is like what Morrie said everybody knows they are going to die but, nobody believes it. I would command to at least know that I may get Alzheimers and get used to the fact before it is too late. nonetheless though Alice knew her other children more, they played a little role in her life after her diagnosis. I think since Anna was diagnosed with the mutated gene, she was more careful and empathetic towards her mother but I did not like her attitude. She was more bear on about herself than Alice. Tom sparingly showed up. I wonder why Genova unbroken him out of the picture most of the time. May be because he was occupy studying and because he was a guy.And Alices progression was mainly emotional. So, knowing myself and a little bit about both genders, I think that emotion s are mainly a female department. Alices role had metamorphosed from a scholar to a mother. And the fastest growth of motherhood was shown through communication via emotions between a mother and a daughter. For example, in the last paragraph Lydia asked her mother to relay her feelings after witnessing Lydias acting and Alice successfully communicated in just a few words. Alice connected beautifully with the language of emotions at a time when language, which made up her whole career, began to part with her.She frequently remembered her mother and sister. I wonder if it was Alzheimers or she needed puff in remembering her family more. Similarly, the butterfly necklace became more important to her. It was a retrospect of her mother but, also signified a butterflys mindless but, beautiful life. I think Alice related to the story and so did I. But, it was thought-provoking when she had called on to God whom she had never called on to. In times of need I also feel the urge to be m ore spiritual. This reminded me of Morrie, who admitted that he talked to God for the first time during the later stages of his illness.Also, Alice felt the need to catch her familys graves. Reminds me of a time when I went to visit a necropolis with my friend. I had a hard time trying to think about mortality like Alice. She was not concentrating on death in the cemetery. She was intellection about John and their relationship. All in all, Genova did a great byplay of giving us a picture of what an Alzheimers patient may go through. She pointed out Alices inner thoughts and feelings and how she had matured in so many ways while keeping her personality intact. Like before, she used cognitive exercises to remember items.She was smart about the use of her blackberry and approach path up with ideas to test her memory. She unploughed herself in an excellent physical condition. Which makes me want to get up and exercise every morning before I become senile. She also had a brilliant c areer and a family. Therefore, her initial decision to commit suicide came as a surprise. I think her family would not have approved of it. But overall, I think Alice grew in the process and others reacted accordingly. For instance, Lydia saw past the disease while John and Alices colleagues only saw what was shown to them.Therefore, I do not think Genova did judge to what other people might be feeling and thinking. Especially, I would have liked to read about Johns perspective. Ironically, even when Dr. Davis had ab initio said that Alices accounts may not be too reliable, Genova kept the story going from Alices point of view. This made me biased towards Alice while not having a clear idea of what John and other people may have been going through. But at least, now I have a better understanding of Alzheimers and its manifestations.