“My
yesterdays are disappearing, and my tomorrows are uncertain, so what do I live
for? I live for each day. I live in the moment. Some tomorrow soon, I'll forget
that I stood before you and gave this speech. But just because I'll forget it
some tomorrow doesn't mean that I didn't live every second of it today. I will
forget today, but that doesn't mean that today didn't matter.”
Alice Howland, happily married with three
grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words.
When she receives a diagnosis of Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease, Alice and her
family find their bonds thoroughly tested. Her struggle to stay connected to
who she once was is frightening, heartbreaking, and inspiring.
What can we learn from this movie?
Be as present as you can in the moment that you have.
No matter what you are struggling with, you are still there. And that’s
what’s most important.
Instead of “either thinking about what’s happened or what’s going to
happen,” just embrace the present.
Take chances
Find a problem and create a solution.
Do what you love.
Speech that
Alice gives to a group of people with Alzheimer disease
Dr. Alice Howland: Good morning. It's an
honor to be here. The poet Elizabeth Bishoponce wrote: 'the Art of Losing isn't
hard to master: so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that
their loss is no disaster.' I'm not a poet, I am a person living with Early
Onset Alzheimer's, and as that person I find myself learning the art of losing
every day. Losing my bearings, losing objects, losing sleep, but mostly losing
memories... [she knocks the pages from the podium] Dr. Alice Howland: I think
I'll try to forget that just happened. [crowd laughs] Dr. Alice Howland: All my
life I've accumulated memories - they've become, in a way, my most precious
possessions. The night I met my husband, the first time I held my textbook in
my hands. Having children, making friends, traveling the world. Everything I
accumulated in life, everything I've worked so hard for - now all that is being
ripped away. As you can imagine, or as you know, this is hell. But it gets
worse. Who can take us seriously when we are so far from who we once were? Our
strange behavior and fumbled sentences change other's perception of us and our
perception of ourselves. We become ridiculous, incapable, comic. But this is
not who we are, this is our disease. And like any disease it has a cause, it
has a progression, and it could have a cure. My greatest wish is that my
children, our children - the next generation - do not have to face what I am
facing. But for the time being, I'm still alive. I know I'm alive. I have
people I love dearly. I have things I want to do with my life. I rail against
myself for not being able to remember things - but I still have moments in the
day of pure happiness and joy. And please do not think that I am suffering. I
am not suffering. I am struggling. Struggling to be part of things, to stay
connected to whom I was once. So, 'live in the moment' I tell myself. It's
really all I can do, live in the moment. And not beat myself up too much... and
not beat myself up too much for mastering the art of losing. One thing I will
try to hold onto though is the memory of speaking here today. It will go, I
know it will. It may be gone by tomorrow. But it means so much to be talking
here, today, like my old ambitious self who was so fascinated by communication.
Thank you for this opportunity. It means the world to me. Thank you.”
Main
Characters
A
linguistics professor afflicted with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
John
Howland
With the
support of her husband, John, Alice Howland learns what she’s up against in her
struggle with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease.
Julianne
Alice´s daughter
Tom
Howland
Supports his ailing mother
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