A non-fiction work by Genova that gives an overview of memory and delineates between typical forgetfulness and cognitive decline/Alzheimers. Genova is a great author - Our brains are amazing and she talks about the nuances of remembering powerfully and relateably. I loved her summary of tangible steps to support cognitive health which of course are behaviors that promote overall mental & physical well-being. The therapist in me wanted more commentary on trauma & memory BUT this was not the purpose of this book and she tended to the neurobiology of trauma in an appropriate way. Lots of takeaways from this book about the making & retrieval of memories and education about what is normal vs. concerning. Highly recommend for all ages!

I loved Still Alice so much, I thought this nonfiction book by the same author would be just as compelling. It was not, although it did have useful information about how memories are formed, what we can do to improve our memory, and a very brief section on things we can do to lessen the risk of Alzheimer's (get 7-9 hours of sleep every night, take Vitamin D if your natural levels are low, and most importantly, exercise plus learn strategies to reduce chronic stress). I was hoping Genova would address things like whether the onset of short-term memory loss is a precursor to Alzheimer's or dementia, and if so, recommended interventions at this stage, but the book went straight from how normal memory works to how Alzheimer's works.

What does memory take? What types of memory do we have? What can we do to improve memory? The perfect little coffee table book on memory and forgetting and wielding it how you may.