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Lisa Genova is a trained neuroscientist and American best-selling author of Still Alice, Left Neglected, and Love Anthony.

Life and career
Genova graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Bates College with a BS degree in Biopsychology and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She did brain research at Massachusetts General Hospital East, Yale Medical School, McLean Hospital, and the National Institute of Health. Genova taught neuroanatomy at Harvard Medical School fall 1996.She has appeared on Dr. Oz, CNN, Diane Rehm, and was featured in the Emmy-award winning documentary film about Alzheimer's, To Not Fade Away. She is married to documentary filmmaker and photographer Christopher Seufert.

In her own words, Genova says: “The novels I write are about people living with neurological diseases and conditions that are feared, ignored, or misunderstood, portrayed within a story that is accessible to the general public.

When we simply learn the science and statistics—every 68 seconds someone in the US is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s; 1 in 88 children in the US have autism--it’s staggering, but the information tends to stay intellectual, in our heads. Novels reveal the humanity behind these numbers. Stories are a way into people’s hearts, and when this happens, we have more than knowledge. We have real understanding, empathy, sensitivity, the ability to be better caregivers, and maybe the motivation to get involved.”

Still Alice
Genova’s 2007 debut is an undeniably poignant story about a lesser known form of Alzheimer’s Disease —the early-onset form that affects people is their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. Powerful and compelling, the book has been hailed as “moving and haunting,” “a work of pure genius,” “insightful, tragic, inspirational” and “heartbreakingly real.”

As both a trained neuroscientist and a woman who watched her grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s, Genova deftly marries science and compassion within Still Alice as her protagonist, 50-year-old Alice Howland, unravels at the hands of early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. The novel begins with Alice in the prime of her life—she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned linguistics expert with an equally successful husband and three grown children. But the disease takes hold swiftly, and we cannot help but read on to watch it change Alice’s relationship with her family and the world —forever.

Genova self-published Still Alice in 2007 with iUniverse. The book was later acquired by Simon & Schuster and published in January 2009 by Pocket Books (now Gallery Books). Still Alice received critical acclaim, including the 2008 Bronte Prize and was a finalist in the general fiction category of the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. It was a winter 2009 Barnes and Noble Discover Pick; a Jan. 2009 Indie Next Pick; and a Feb. 2009 pick in both the Borders and Target book clubs. Still Alice spent over 40 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into over 25 languages.

Left Neglected
An instant best-seller, Left Neglected also makes use of Genova’s background as a neuroscientist as it tells the story of a woman who suffers from left neglect (also called hemispatial or unilateral neglect) caused by a traumatic brain injury. Her brain completely ignores the left side of everything, in effect erasing the left side of her world. As she struggles to recover, she discovers she must embrace a simpler life, and in doing so begins to heal the things she’s left neglected in herself, her family, and the world around her. Left Neglected was published by Gallery Books in January 2011. The novel was chosen as a #1 Indie Next Pick in 2011, a Borders "Book You'll Love" for January 2011, and the #4 Indie Reading Group Pick for summer 2011. It was chosen by Richard and Judy Book Club in the UK (the equivalent of the Oprah's Book Club in the US).

Love Anthony
Genova’s latest best-seller, Love Anthony was released by Gallery Books in September 2012. It has been called “an engaging story that fearlessly asks the big questions” by Booklist and “beautifully written, and poignant to the point of heartbreak” by USA Today. It was chosen as an Indie Next Pick for October 2012 and a People Magazine Great Read. In the novel, Genova explores the lives of two women, one a mother who lost her young autistic son and the other a writer who discovers her husband is having an affair. Through a chance encounter the two develop an unexpected and meaningful friendship. The paperback of Love Anthony is due to be released on April 2 2013, in conjunction with Autism Awareness Month.

Adaptations

 * Still Alice has been adapted for the stage by Christine Mary Dunford for the Lookingglass Theatre Company. The play will run from April 10-May 19, 2013.