“They used to walk together to Harvard Yard every morning. Of the many things she loved about working within a mile from home and at the same school, their shared commute was the thing she loved most. They always stopped at Jerri’s—a black coffee for him, a tea with lemon for her…” 

This quote is representative of both the loss in closeness that Alice feels with her husband, even before the disease takes over, and the routine that Alice will later find to be so important. Routine becomes imperative as she declines, but here we see that she lost the routine some time before; similarly, the distance between her and her husband began prior to her Alzheimer’s, as well.

“She simply couldn’t find the word. She had a loose sense for what she wanted to say, but the word itself eluded her. Gone.” 

This quote is likely the first moment Alice realizes that something may be wrong, as the word, lexicon, is common in her field, and it was established prior that this lecture, which includes the word, is one she knows cold. It also demonstrates the cloudy nature of the disease as she experiences it, and how concepts can just disappear. As these disappearances grow more numerous, the disease takes over.

“But Anna countered with the point that every professional woman considering children realized eventually: There’s never going to be a good time to do this.” 

One of the subtler themes in the novel is the recurring feminist lens. Alice is concerned here for her daughter’s ability to maintain a career while having children, and this concern is borne out of her own experience, as she recalls her own career stalling while John’s career progressed. Her department at Harvard is predominantly male, as well, while her disease primarily affects women, which will again leave John in the position to continue when she no longer can.