This book is beautiful. It is heart breaking, but beautiful.

I've not read a book with a character diagnosed with Alzheimer's before but Genova did an absolutely incredible job with this book. It is clear that she is extremely knowledgable about the disease and this turned out to be so much more than a piece of fiction.

Alice is an independent, exceptionally intelligent, inspirational and powerful woman at the beginning of this story. She is a top professor at Harvard, as is her husband John, and the mother to three grown children. She is only in her early fifties when she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's and this absolutely terrified me. We are learning more about Alzheimer's as more people openly talk about this terrible disease publicly but I still didn't know enough to truly understand just how cruel this disease is. This novel succeeded in being a very informative piece of literature as well as a beautiful and poignant story.

It terrifies me seeing how quickly Alice's entire world changed once she was diagnosed. To go from being such a strong and intelligent woman to somebody who is unable to function without help is unthinkable. What made this novel so raw and emotional to me was that Genova very cleverly used her own language to reflect how the disease effects the whole family. We see Alice's children struggle over whether to get genetic testing and how this will effect their own futures; John struggles to come to terms with losing his wife despite her physically still being his Alice. It's really heartbreaking.

I think what I loved most about this book is the sheer brilliance of Genova's writing. As Alice's mind and memory deteriorate, Genova very cleverly manipulates her language to place us in Alice's shoes. Especially towards the end of the book when Alice is struggling regularly to recognise those around her and the names of objects in her surroundings. I almost felt that my own mind was being tested and reassured as I went along. Alice refers to 'the actress' but I'm still able to recognise that as her daughter, Lydia. A relief to my mind, sure enough, but a very harsh reminder of the reality of living with Alzheimer's. There's no cure and eventually those suffering with this terrible disease will forget not only those around them but also themselves.

A beautiful, poignant and important read. I would recommend this to every book lover out there. But do get the tissues ready!