Alice Howland is a fifty-year-old cognitive psychology
professor at Harvard, and a world-renowned expert in linguistics,
with grown children and a satisfying marriage, when she starts to
experience fleeting forgetfulness and disorientation. She initially
attributes these episodes to normal aging or menopause. But as her
symptoms worsen, she sees a neurologist and is given the diagnosis
that will change her life forever: early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease.
With no cure or treatment, Alice struggles to find meaning and
purpose in her life as her sense of self is gradually stripped
away, leaving her unable to continue in her profession, take care
of herself, recognize her loved ones or even understand that she
has a neurodegenerative disease. Without memory or hope, Alice is
forced to live in the moment, which is in turns beautiful,
terrifying, and maddening. Genova uses the successful, articulate
and independent Alice as the perfect vehicle to capture what it
feels like to literally lose your mind. This novel will touch and
inspire you. You will admire Alice’s strength and resourcefulness
as much as cry over her losses. And it will bring new understanding
for all those affected by this terrible neurological disease.