STILL ALICE by Lisa Genova

This month's novel deals with a topic most of us don't want to think about. Perhaps we know a loved one who has or had Alzheimer's Disease, or maybe we live in fear that we'll get it ourselves. Either way, it helps to know how the disease works so that we can deal with it better. Knowledge is Power, right?

Still Alice (2009) is a compelling novel about a Harvard professor of Linguistics named Alice who finds herself increasingly confused and forgetful. She seeks medical help and her worst fears are confirmed. She has Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Alice is a fictional character, but because of the nuanced character development here, readers will feel that they are inside the head of a living person. I heard Lisa Genova speak about the book recently, and she revealed that Alice is actually a composite of people she met who have the disease, and of the facets of her deep knowledge of how the brain works. She has a very interesting TED Talk here where she shares what she believes are the best ways to avoid getting Alzheimer's Disease. Reading books, attending classes, and generally acquiring new knowledge are examples of ways to ward it off, but you'll realize these did not work for the scholar Alice. Sometimes all the learning in the world can't combat what's already in the genes.

Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist and believes that she can educate people about brain diseases and conditions more effectively by attaching the symptoms and medical knowledge about the disease to a story. In this case, it is Alice who has Early-Onset Alzheimer's, but her other books explore realistically the facets of Huntingdon's Disease, brain injuries, and autism. Still Alice is her flagship book, though, and Julianne Moore won an Oscar for portraying the main character in the "Still Alice" movie!

Read this book for more understanding of Alzheimer's. It's all around us. If you haven't encountered it yet, you probably will, and the best way to deal is to know what is happening. In spite of its gloomy subject, it is a good read with rich detail and compelling characters.

Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover

As a librarian and avid devour-er of books, I like to recommend books to people. In this case, the tables were turned. This book was recommended to me by a friend who knows the kinds of books I like. She was right about this one! As soon as she told me about it, I started seeing it mentioned in my online book group and in the media. It made quite a splash this summer, and for good reason.

It's a memoir, so this is stuff that actually happened. "Duh," you say. But I feel I have to remind the reader that the protagonist's tales of an abusive and over-the-top religious childhood (I do not mean to imply that the two are related) fall into the category of "You Can't Make This Stuff Up." In education, we remind ourselves constantly that our students have to contend with many barriers and obstacles that we may not have encountered or even knew existed when we were in school. This is the case with Tara Westover, who was raised in a fundamentalist Mormon household. She and her siblings were supposed to have been homeschooled, but weren't at all. They learned how to work in their dad's scrapyard, roof sheds ('roof' is a verb there), or how to mix their mother's homeopathic, organic salves and concoctions. History, popular culture, math, and science were mysteries to them. Three out of the six (or seven) siblings somehow overcame these monumental educational deficiencies and earned PhDs.

Tara Westover compellingly describes her childhood, teenage years, and young adulthood. If you thought your parents were strict, wait until you read about hers! Along the way, Tara meets adults who see the promise in her intellectual curiosity and encourage her to learn. She's the quintessential autodidact, tutoring herself in ACT (standardized test) preparation so that she might get into a college. She does. There's no money, but she has so much promise that she is awarded scholarships through graduate school. Her struggle through education (and basic conformism) is astonishing.

Her other struggle is with her family. Her parents and most siblings do not approve of women pursuing an education. In fact, she is labelled a whore for not succumbing to their zealous beliefs and taking up residence in some husband's kitchen. They believe that she has gone to the devil and dis-own her. One of her brothers abuses her from childhood and even threatens to kill her. I'll let you find out from the book who condemns whom, who attempts reconciliations, and where schisms still exist at the end of the book. On the one hand it is heartbreaking. On the other hand, Tara is stronger and more intelligent for it. She has grit.

My favorite aspect of this book is Tara's discovery and enlightenment as she learns about history and popular culture. She made it all the way to college without knowing about the Holocaust. Are there other religions besides Mormonism? Science! Math! Music Theory! When she is upset and needs a break from the stress of reality, she binge-watches old television shows. Imagine making discoveries like these for the first time! Her education is multi-faceted, not academic alone.

Read this book. Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover.