Still Alice is a very intriguing novel. It helps me understand how people with alzheimer's cope with every day life. "As if she were riding a roller coaster with her eyes shut, she couldn’t predict which way she was being turned next” is like an endless struggle that Alice is fighting. She can't help the fact that she is forgetting the simplest things that she used to know off the top of her head.
Alzheimer's is predicted to effect 1 in 85 people by 2050, which is quite a high number. Unfortunately there is no cure at this point in time. Alice and her family will be greatly affected by this tragic disease. Sadly Alice must face that she will not be able to recognize her loved ones. Due to the disease the saying "Family comes first" is going to slowly fade away, not because Alice doesn't believe that, but because she will not be able to identify her own family.
Personally I may not have alzheimers, but I can relate to how she feels. Her life is like a roller coaster spiraling out of control.
We all have moments in life where we have to look down and see that our feet are still planted firmly on the ground. It can feel like walking down a windy path trying to reach you destination but being knocked of course. Yet knowing in the back of your mind you will never reach it. All our personal connections fade like a well-aged piece of driftwood floating in the ocean. It will never sink but it will exist as a foreigner, far from home. Lost in a world of transition, yet knowing what awaits you.
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