Alzheimer Society of B.C. fundraiser connects Still Alice author and neuroscientist with B.C. woman who helped inform the ground-breaking book

On March 3, when participants across B.C. tune into the Alzheimer Society of B.C.’s virtual Breakfast to Remember fundraiser, with neuroscientist and bestselling author Dr. Lisa Genova, many of them will have a deep appreciation for Dr. Genova’s work. But for one person in the audience, there’s a much deeper connection to the writing – a connection that helped move forward the global conversation about living with young onset dementia. Lynn Jackson, a Richmond resident who developed frontotemporal dementia in her early 40s, at the height of her career, first met Dr. Genova in 2004 as a member of a dementia support network. At that time, Dr. Genova was learning from a group of people living with the diagnosis what it was like to face dementia, knowledge she pulled from when she went on to write the novel Still Alice. The two women later met in person to share a meal over the years during Dr. Genova’s trips to Vancouver.

“When she came into our chat room and wanted to write a book about dementia, we were happy because we wanted to advocate and share knowledge – and we thought a novel would work to reach people,” says Lynn, who also provided Dr. Genova with a paper she wrote describing what it felt like to live with the disease. “I could hear my voice right through it.”

Lynn, who had been an ER nurse in Victoria and Toronto, was travelling between Puerto Rico and South America working as a medical supply sales representative when she was officially diagnosed with dementia. She is thanked in the acknowledgments of the book, which itself faced a set of incredible challenges before gaining widespread acclaim. Dr. Genova’s project was rejected or ignored by 100 literary agents before she self-published the book, sold it out of her car and later attracted the attention of a major publisher. Still Alice was adapted into a film starring Julianne Moore who won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role as Alice Howland in 2015.

“It’s really a humbling experience to hear my words are in a book that people all over the world are reading,” Lynn says. “When it was first out, I would see it in a lineup at the grocery store check out and I would think, my name is in that book.”

Alongside Lynn, many others with lived experience of dementia and caregiving have expressed gratitude and anticipation for Dr. Genova’s keynote address and Q&A on March 3. Jim Mann, who also lives with young onset dementia, will be sharing the virtual stage with Dr. Genova.

“This will be a big honour for me because of Lisa Genova,” Jim says. “I read Still Alice and saw the movie as well and think highly of her.”

The Alzheimer Society of B.C. is pleased to invite everyone in the province to attend this year’s virtual Breakfast to Remember, a unique opportunity to hear from an expert in both the neuroscience of cognitive changes and the art of translating the science to audiences around the world. Annual Breakfast to Remember events bring B.C. business and other community leaders together to hear inspiring talks and help raise critical funds for Alzheimer Society of B.C. programs and services, including increased virtual programming. Funds raised also enable dementia research in B.C.

Breakfast to Remember runs from 7:30 – 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 3. To learn more, or to purchase tickets, visit BreakfastToRemember.ca.