Turn of Mind

Jennifer White is a retired orthopedic surgeon with early-onset dementia who becomes a suspect in her best friend's murder. The victim, Amanda, was found with four fingers surgically removed from her hand. The story is told through Jennifer's fragmenting consciousness as she struggles to maintain her grip on reality and determine her own potential involvement in Amanda's death. Her children Mark and Fiona move in and out of her awareness, while Detective Luton persists in questioning her about the murder. The narrative unfolds through Jennifer's journal entries, interactions with her caregiver, and moments of lucidity interspersed with confusion. Her relationship with Amanda spans decades and contains both deep friendship and simmering tensions. This psychological mystery explores the nature of memory, identity, and truth - asking what remains of a person when their mind begins to fail, and how reliable any singular perspective can be.

Readers connect emotionally with the first-person narration from Jennifer's deteriorating mind as she grapples with Alzheimer's while being investigated for murder. Many note the unique perspective of an unreliable narrator who cannot trust her own memories. Liked: - Authentic portrayal of Alzheimer's progression - Complex mother-daughter relationships - Medical details (from author research) - Short chapters match fragmented thoughts - Murder mystery adds tension Disliked: - Confusing timeline jumps - Some found it repetitive - Several readers struggled with dark subject matter - A few felt the ending was unsatisfying Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (15,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4/5 (500+ reviews) "The descent into confusion is masterfully done" - Goodreads reviewer "Too depressing and difficult to follow" - Amazon reviewer "As a doctor, I appreciate the medical accuracy" - Barnes & Noble reviewer The book won the Wellcome Trust Book Prize for medicine in literature.

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🔍 Alice LaPlante based several aspects of Dr. Jennifer White's character on her own mother's experience with Alzheimer's disease. 🏆 Turn of Mind won the Wellcome Trust Book Prize in 2011, becoming the first work of fiction to receive this prestigious award typically given to medical-themed books. 💫 The novel's unique narrative structure mirrors the fragmentary nature of memory loss, with gaps and inconsistencies that reflect the protagonist's deteriorating mental state. 👥 LaPlante conducted extensive research at dementia care facilities and interviewed numerous medical professionals to accurately portray the progression of Alzheimer's disease. 📚 The book sparked significant discussion in the medical community about the intersection of memory loss and criminal responsibility, leading to its use in several medical ethics courses.