Lisa Genova facts for kids

Lisa Genova was born on November 22, 1970. She is an American neuroscientist and a talented author. She is known for writing books about characters who face different brain conditions.

Lisa Genova first published her book Still Alice in 2007. It tells the story of a professor from Harvard University who gets early-onset Alzheimer's disease. This book was later made into a movie in 2014, also called Still Alice. The actress Julianne Moore won an Academy Award for Best Actress for playing Alice Howland in the film.

After Still Alice, Lisa Genova wrote more novels about people dealing with neurological disorders. Her books Left Neglected, Love Anthony, and Inside the O'Briens all became New York Times bestsellers.

Lisa Genova's Early Life and Science Career

Lisa Genova studied hard and graduated with top honors from Bates College. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biopsychology. In 1998, she received her PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University.

She worked as a researcher at several places, including Massachusetts General Hospital East and Yale Medical School. She also taught about the brain at Harvard Medical School in 1996.

Lisa Genova's Books and Writing Career

Lisa Genova writes stories that help readers understand what it's like to live with different brain conditions.

About Still Alice

Her first novel, Still Alice, came out in 2007. It's about a 50-year-old professor named Alice Howland. Alice teaches cognitive psychology at Harvard and is an expert in linguistics. She has a successful husband and three grown children. The story shows how Alzheimer's disease quickly changes Alice's life and her relationships with her family.

Lisa Genova first published the book herself in 2007. Later, a big publisher called Simon & Schuster bought the book. It was on The New York Times bestseller list for over a year. By 2012, more than a million copies were printed, and it was translated into 26 languages.

Still Alice was also turned into a play in 2013. In 2014, it became a movie starring Julianne Moore as Alice. Other famous actors like Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, and Kate Bosworth were also in the film. Julianne Moore won an Academy Award for her amazing performance.

About Left Neglected

Left Neglected was published in 2011. This book tells the story of a woman who has a brain injury. This injury causes her to have left neglect, meaning she struggles to notice things on her left side. As she tries to get better, she learns to live a simpler life. The story shows how she heals by paying attention to parts of herself, her family, and the world that she had ignored. This book also became a New York Times bestseller.

About Love Anthony

Love Anthony is Lisa Genova's third New York Times bestseller, released in 2012. The main character is a boy named Anthony who has autism and cannot speak. The story explores what it might be like inside the mind of someone with autism. It also shows how Anthony impacts the lives of two women.

About Inside the O'Briens

Inside the O'Briens was published in 2015. This novel focuses on the O'Brien family. Several family members have inherited Huntington's disease. The book explores how this disease affects their lives and their relationships with each other. It was a No. 1 hardcover fiction book in Canada and a New York Times bestseller.

About Every Note Played

Every Note Played is Lisa Genova's fifth novel, released in 2018. It follows a main character who is a pianist. He discovers he has ALS, a serious disease, and the story shows how he lives with it.

About More or Less Maddy

More or Less Maddy is Lisa Genova's sixth novel, released in January 2025. It tells the story of a stand-up comedian who learns she has bipolar disorder and how she deals with this diagnosis.

Non-fiction Book

• Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting, published in 2021, is a non-fiction book by Lisa Genova. It also became a New York Times bestseller.

Audiobooks

Many of Lisa Genova's books are available as audiobooks:

• 2009: Still Alice (read by Lisa Genova)
• 2015: "Inside the O'Briens" (read by Skipp Suddwith)
• 2018: Every Note Played (with an afterword read by Lisa Genova)
• 2021: Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting (read by Lisa Genova)

Awards and Honors for Lisa Genova

Lisa Genova has received many awards for her work.

• In 2015, she received the Pell Center Prize for Story in the Public Square. This award recognizes storytellers whose work helps public discussions.
• She also received the Sargent and Eunice Shriver Profiles in Dignity Award. This award honors people who help others understand Alzheimer's disease.
• She won the Abe Burrows Entertainment Award for the film Still Alice.
• The Alzheimer's Association gave her the Rita Hayworth Award in 2016.
• In 2016, her old college, Bates College, gave her an honorary degree.

Lisa Genova's Personal Life

Lisa Genova was married and had a daughter in 2000. She started writing full-time in 2004 after her divorce.