Talks of neurological diseases are often marked with numbers and technical information that overlooks the painful human struggle, but that's where the role of literature comes in.

Neuroscientist and author Lisa Genova was inspired by her experience with her grandmother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's before pinning down her bestselling book Still Alice, a fiction that revolves around a Harvard professor suffering early onset Alzheimer's disease.

The book that, later adapted into film that won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Julianne Moore's powerful performance, helped stir global conversation about Alzheimer's disease.

For the 46-year-old author, literature and film humanize such experiences and serve as vehicles for social change in overcoming the stigma surrounding mental illness.