Love Anthony by Lisa Genova

I love this author.  If you've never read her, you must.  She takes subjects (autism, Alzheimer's, brain damage) and gives such a knowledgeable voice to them...it boggles the mind. 

In Love Anthony, one of our two main characters is Beth who is going through a devastating time in her life when her husband of 14 years cheats on her.  As a way of coping, she starts writing a novel about a boy with autism, told through the boys voice.  Our second main character is Olivia, a woman running from the memories of her autistic son who has recently passed after suffering a seizure.  The paths of these two women unexpectedly cross at a time when they both are at a turning point - one which will make or break them. 

I read this book in 2 days.  It was amazing.  It gives such an amazing voice to autism that you wonder if Lisa Genova has some sort of insight into the minds of these kids.  For anyone who works with kids who have autism, parents with kids who have autism or truly anyone who has ever come across someone with autism, you MUST read this.  It is amazing.  (And read the other books by this author as well...you won't be disappointed.)

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Let me start by saying, I LOVE this author.  She does such a great job  explaining medical jargon and conditions without sounding pedantic and dry, thus boring.  BTW - this is my second book of Lisa Genova's - Left Neglected was read just prior to reading this one.

So, Still Alice is actually Lisa Genova's first novel and it's about Alice Howland, a 50-year-old Harvard Psychology professor who is tragically diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's.  (UGH!  Sounds uplifting, huh? Don't let this deter you, however). Alice is a happily married, mother of three (grown and out of the house).  She is very successful - she travels to give lectures all over the country, her classes are always well attended and reviewed - as is her husband.  Things start to change, however, as she realizes, on her own, that she often has weird bouts of confusion that can't be explained by lack or loss of sleep, menopause or simple forgetfulness.  So, she goes to her doc and long story short, she is diagnosed. The rest of the novel focuses around Alice struggling to maintain a lifestyle similar to what she had while living for every moment.  The story is told through Alice's eyes and so the reader gets an idea of what it must be like to literally lose your mind.

Don't let the subject matter of this book keep you from reading it...the ending isn't a complete downer and if you've known anyone who has had this horrible diagnosis, it will give you such great insight to what they may be going through.  I loved this book and would recommend it to all.

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

Wow, this was a good book!  I'm not sure where I heard of this author but she is new to me and I'm on a mission today to find her first novel (Still Alice) which had great reviews too.

Left Neglected is about Harvard grad, successful business woman Sarah Nickerson.  She's a woman who "has it all": an equally successful and loving husband; 3 relatively healthy kids and a home in a fairly affluent neighborhood in Boston.  The one thing she doesn't seem to have is a minute to spare in her busy 70-hour work week.  She and her husband, Bob, however, seem to balance it all out equally, sharing in shuttling their kids around, preparing dinners etc.  On a busy Friday (Friday is the one day that Sarah and Bob don't have an assigned person to shuttle the kids so they usually "throw" for it - rock/paper/scissors) Sarah is on her way to work with a few unexpected minutes to spare, having won the "throw" when, while searching for her cell phone, she takes her eyes off the road for a split-second and ends up totaling her car and suffering a traumatic brain injury in the process.  Sarah is forced, through her injury, to relearn parts of her life and body that she always took for granted.  She is forced to slow down and in doing so, she learns that life doesn't have to be rushed and having it all can be simple and enjoyable.

I loved this book.  I loved the characters.  There wasn't a character that bothered me or annoyed me or seemed unrealistic.  Lisa Geneova, a neuroscientist in her "real life" gave such great explanations for the injury that Sarah suffered and turned what could have been a tragedy into something miraculous - a second chance at life.  Can't wait to read her first novel (Still Alice).