Every Note Played

Lisa Genova is an American neuroscientist with a PhD from Harvard University. She has written several novels offering personal perspectives on various neurological diseases and disorders. Her self-published 2007 debut novel, Still Alice, centers on a Harvard professor who develops early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The book was adapted into a film starring Julianne Moore, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. Genova’s next novel, Left Neglected, follows the narrative of a woman who experiences reduced sensory awareness of half of her body following a car accident. Published in 2012, Genova’s third novel, Love Anthony, traces one woman’s journey to healing after the death of her son, who was diagnosed with autism. Inside the O’Briens, Genova’s fourth novel, features a family grappling with the effects of Huntington’s disease, a heritable neurodegenerative disease. Genova went on to publish her fifth novel, Every Note Played, in 2018; here, she examines a concert pianist’s complex journey of loss and healing after he is diagnosed with ALS.

In addition to writing fiction, Genova offers expertise and advocacy related to neurological diseases in other ways. In 2021, Genova published Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting, a nonfiction book that provides a thorough exploration of the mechanics of human memory, including insights that can improve memory.