Still Alice

by

Lisa Genova

Lydia Howland Character Analysis

Alice and John’s youngest child. Unlike her siblings Anna and Tom, Lydia does not immediately go to college after high school, instead opting for a gap year in Europe before moving to LA to pursue acting. Because of this, Alice and Lydia struggle to get along and frequently argue over Lydia’s future. After Alice is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it is revealed that Lydia was the only one who had noticed the changes in Alice’s behavior over the past year, including forgetting words and repeating herself frequently, which highlights how insightful and observant Lydia is. Although Alice and Lydia frequently butt heads, they do start getting closer as Alice begins struggling more with her memory. Lydia is frequently the only one who really understands Alice, pointing it out to others when Alice is struggling to keep up with conversations and reminding her what things are when she can see that Alice is confused about an object. Although she knows she may have inherited a mutated gene that causes Alzheimer’s from Alice, Lydia chooses not to get tested. Eventually, Lydia chooses to study acting at a university, which makes Alice very proud. Lydia chooses a school close to Cambridge that will allow her to be closer to the whole family and help care for Alice as her symptoms get worse.

Lydia Howland Quotes in Still Alice

The Still Alice quotes below are all either spoken by Lydia Howland or refer to Lydia Howland. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Ambition and Success Theme Icon
).
August 2004 Quotes

Lydia reached out across the dishes and glasses and years of distance and held her mother’s hand. Alice squeezed it and smiled. Finally, they’d found something else they could talk about.

Related Characters: Dr. Alice Howland, Lydia Howland
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis:
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Lydia Howland Quotes in Still Alice

The Still Alice quotes below are all either spoken by Lydia Howland or refer to Lydia Howland. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Ambition and Success Theme Icon
).
August 2004 Quotes

Lydia reached out across the dishes and glasses and years of distance and held her mother’s hand. Alice squeezed it and smiled. Finally, they’d found something else they could talk about.

Related Characters: Dr. Alice Howland, Lydia Howland
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis: