Continuing our Reading is Rewarding theme, today’s Swagging Selection, a.k.a User-Submitted Book Review, comes from a swaggernaut known as cougarette.  The book she recommends is Still Alice by Lisa Genova which sounds intriguing enough for me to pick it up but when cougarette adds her own personal account of the dreaded disease it sealed the deal.  This book will definitely be in my future, and I hope yours too.

Don’t forget if you want to submit your own 3-5 paragraph review for consideration just send it with your swagname to bookclub@swagbucks.com.  If we choose to use your review you will be rewarded with 250 Swag Bucks.

Thanks

Becky

 

I wanted to submit my review of one of the best books I’ve read this year, Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

The book is about Alice Howland, a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard, who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers.  My favorite reading genre is mystery. This book kept me up and my heart was beating and my palms were sweaty while reading this. I’ve never had this problem when reading a murder mystery. I cried and became very scared.

My grandmother has AD (and it may be considered early-onset, I think she was under 65 when she was diagnosed). I’m constantly worried that I may develop it. The book starts with Alice having trouble coming up with a word or forgetting why she walked into a room.  One of the scary things to think about is the fact that Alice kept her mind sharp, but still was diagnosed.

One of the many details I liked about the book is the fact that it’s completely told in the first person.  Sometimes the author will repeat an entire paragraph word for word because that’s what it’s like in the person’s mind.  This perspective helped me to feel what it could be like to have Alzheimers at times.  It helped me see what it’s like for my grandmother when she asks a question for the fourth time or doesn’t remember why she’s holding a certain object.

This book was very powerful and I keep talking about it to everyone. I hope a cure is found for this awful disease.

I would recommend this to anyone, whether you have a loved one with Alzheimers or not.