A Murder-Mystery with a Twist: A Protagonist with Alzheimer's

Girl Talk, Silicon Valley — When science gives up, art takes over. And if science cannot explain to us what goes on in the mind of someone with Alzheimer's, author Alice LaPlante proves more than up to the challenge. Just as Mark Haddon opened a window into the mind of a boy with autism with his bestseller,The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, LaPlante manages the difficult feat of turning the topic of Alzheimer's, which few people choose to read about, into a compelling mystery.

In Turn of Mind, LaPlante asks if Dr. Jennifer White, who suffers from Alzheimer's dementia, murdered her best friend. LaPlante's unexpected twist: The story is told from Jennifer's point of view as she struggles to uncover the answer — even if she can't remember the clues:

"Something has happened. You can always tell. You come to and find wreckage: a smashed lamp, a devastated human face that shivers on the verge of being recognizable. Occasionally someone in uniform: a paramedic, a nurse. A hand extended with a pill. Or poised to insert a needle. This time I am in a room, sitting on a cold metal folding chair.... My guess is that a smile would be inappropriate. Fear might not be."



This is the first novel for LaPlante, who won Stanford University’s prestigious Wallace Stegner Fellowship more than 20 years ago while still a technology reporter. Since then, LaPlante has gone on to teach creative writing at San Francisco State University and at Stanford University, and has written five books, including Method and Madness: The Making of a Story: A Guide to Writing Fiction. Turn of Mind is a New York Times Editor’s Choice and bestseller and was named among the best books of 2011 by Newsday, Amazon.com, The Guardian, Kirkus Reviews, and the Globe and Mail. 



One Thing New contributor Rochelle Garner spoke with LaPlante, who lives in California's Silicon Valley, about her experience with Alzheimer's, her Sherlock Holmes' inspiration, her advice for budding authors and doomsday cults.


College Essays: Practical Tips Culled from Painful Experience

You may have heard that the college admission process is so competitive that many people wonder if they would be accepted by their alma mater if they were to apply today.

Add me to that group.

It’s not enough to be smart anymore. Kids need something extra to stand out among all those other kids who have built houses, saved rainforests, discovered cures to various diseases and have patents pending. What is that extra? There's no easy answer.

But I think an important part of it is the essay. I believe the essays count — and that they can be a real factor that moves an application into the ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ pile. The essays lets students show they’re clever, witty, funny, serious, enthusiastic, whatever — basically, that they’re more than just the sum of their grades, test scores and activities.

As a volunteer who has helped high school students understand what college essays are about, and as a parent who survived the admission process once and will have to go through it again this fall, I offer some practical tips for other parents and kids who will be applying to college later this year.

Image courtesy of flickr user Sharon Drummond.

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