Emotionally engaging and insightful, Every Note Played is a richly layered story that will nourish longtime readers and fans of Lisa Genova’s previous novels like Inside the O’Brien’s (which addressed the effects of Huntington’s disease) and Still Alice (Alzheimer’s) as well as appealing to new readers .

This time Genova, a neuroscientist, hooks readers with the tale of a renowned concert pianist, Richard Evans, and his battle with ALS, an unforgiving disease that has caused the demise of his career, much in the same way his career coupled with his roving eye lead to the demine of his marriage and a subsequent rancorous divorce.

His unfortunate circumstance has caused his ex-wife, Karina, to reenter his life as his caregiver and chronicles the daily frustrations both face as patient and caregiver. Alternating between the viewpoints of Richard and Karina, the reader witnesses the love of music that initially drew them together followed by a litany of events shared by the couple but perceived very differently by each.

The narrative shows both Richard and Karina to be far from perfect in their thoughts and actions but through this shared agonizing journey each experiences a degree of personal growth.

Genova has a talent for giving readers an in-depth look at the physical and emotional effects of the diseases about which she writes without overwhelming them with a lot of medical jargon and mumbo jumbo.

What happens when a concert pianist loses the use of his right hand? Richard faces this first of many losses with denial and disbelief as ALS begins to invade his body, but as his abilities decline, he must accept help in order to manage basic tasks of daily living. His ex-wife Karina becomes his reluctant caregiver, taking on this task to atone for the decision that drove them apart. Their marriage forced each of them to give up a dream, but I'm the end only one can recover. This is hard reading that occasionally becomes too clinical, but in the end it is the story of a struggling marriage that involves the reader, not the sad struggle with a horrible disease.

I never really knew a lot about ALS before this book. I had only heard of it - connected to Lou Gehrig and Stephen Hawking. Also, there was an episode on "Suits" about it. I only knew it was a disease that could cause paralysis and death.

Through this book, I learned a lot more about this dreadful disease and the ways that it takes over your body and what will eventually happen to you. Although the time frame is different for all who have the disease.

This book tells it all through a story about a very egotistical classical pianist who has enjoyed the fortune and fame of being famous. It has definitely gone to his head. All he can think about is himself, music, his piano and other women. He leaves his family, including his daughter, who he has left right alongside his wife.

An eye opening, very sad story about ALS, divorce and family.

I recall my first tear while reading this book. It was near the beginning of the book, when the pianist discovered his plight. This one phrase "Could that be the last embrace of his life?" really hit me hard.

Excellent read!

Thanks to Gallery, Threshold and Pocket Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

This book is amazing! Richard is not really a character you like. He is an accomplished pianist which has toured the world. He is arrogant, a terrible father, and definitely not a great husband. When he is diagnosed with ALS, his world changes for the worst.

The author did a BRILLIANT job with Richard. I hated him at first but when his body starts to fail him, he changes in so many ways. Karina is not a saint either. She does help him when he needs her the most. But, she cannot let go of the damage he already caused.

The tragedy of a life unfinished, the tragedy of family and marriage, the tragedy of this disease are just a few areas touched on in this book. This is about past hurts, past regrets, and lost dreams. This is a roller coaster ride of feelings! Don’t miss it!

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

I still haven’t read Still Alice, but when I saw this book was available I knew I needed to read it, even though I was worried when I saw a few comparisons to Me Before You (since I’m the only person in the world who hated that book). While I can see why people say that, since it does have a similar “theme” I guess, this book was SO MUCH BETTER. Characters that grew and matured as the book progressed, themes of redemption and forgiveness. Just a solid read all around.

This beautiful book has opened my eyes to the many mundane things we all are guilty of taking for granted. While this is a wonderful story, it is also a great tool to bring awareness of ALS to those of us who don't know much about this terrible disease. From diagnosis through the progression, Lisa Genova demonstrates how devastating ALS is to everyone involved. Even though it is heartbreaking, it's an important book for all of us, not only for education and understanding, but also for motivation to become part of the search for a cure and to help those suffering from ALS.

Just as the description said it's about redemption. Absolutely beautifully written! I couldn't wait to read the end! It's rare a book will touch me like this....the only reason I have it four stars is to many unnecessary details

Every Note Played gives us Richard and Karina, lives who have been graced with artistic talent and full of regrets and resentments. The diagnosis of ALS robs Richard of his gift with the reader now experiencing the struggles of the innocent victim, the progressive stages of the affliction, and the shifting frame of mind with the hardships of the caretaker. Lisa Genova provides us with a memorable story and an authentic understanding of an insidious condition AGAIN.

Never read, maybe read at another time. Will probably appeal to readers of her previous books.

Richard just found out he has ALS. His hands and arms succumb to the disease first which is devastating because he’s a world renowned concert pianist. He’s recently divorced from Kathy and his only daughter Grace is away at college so he has no one to be his caregiver. And anyway, he’s incredibly stubborn and in denial that his disease will eventually take him down.

Of course, it does continue to get worse. When Kathy visits him, in spite of their contentious relationship, she sees that he is incapable of taking care of himself living in his fourth floor walkup. Reluctantly, she invites him to move back home, where she can care for him.

In addition to being a wonderful author, Genova has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard. Because of this, and because she spoke with a number of people with ALS, she is able to describe in great detail what it’s like to live with the disease.

I personally have been in a situation where after waking up from being in a coma for two and half weeks, I had extreme muscle atrophy and could not move my arms or legs. I was also on a vent with a trach and could not speak. I think Genova perfectly captured what it’s like to be a prisoner in your own body – both the fear and frustration. Luckily, unlike Richard, I made a full recovery. Unfortunately, there is no cure for ALS.

I think this book would make an excellent book club selection. Discussion points could include whether or not you would be able to make the sacrifices Kathy made to care for Richard for someone you didn’t really like. There is also much to talk about surrounding the ending. I won’t spoil it for you though. Lastly, Kathy kept a big secret from Richard during their marriage that members could give their thoughts on.

Lisa Genova has become one of my favorite authors and Every Note Played did not disappoint. It’s the only book that has ever made me cry! Highly recommended.

4.5 Stars! Lisa Genova does it again! I am so impressed with how this book was written in that I felt for the characters but also learned so much at the same time. The challenges experienced by the characters were 100% realistic and the alternating view points of Richard and Karina was so well done. I l0ved hearing about Richard's music career and also I learned so much about ALS that it wasn't forced upon me but was done through his experience as the disease progressed. Highly Recommended

Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist who brings her medical knowledge to tell the story of a patient and his family living (and dying) with ALS. While I didn't like it quite as much as Left Neglected and Inside the O"Briens, it is still a medically sound and fascinating look into how very hard life and love can be when dealing with a horrible, devastating disease.

There are multiple stories in this book. One is about two accomplished pianists, Karina, who sacrifices what could be an enormously fulfilling career so Richard, the talented, ambitious man she loves can achieve his notoriety. This is a story of love, rage, hate, self-hate, jealousy, fidelity, failed relationships, twenty years of blame and resentment, twenty years of being right at any cost. This is a story where desperation is mistaken for dedication, arrogance for confidence.

Then there is the story of the victims of ALS. This is a tragically hard story that rips you apart as you wonder if life is worth living without the use of your hands, your legs, your feet. Is life worth living when your body becomes a prison over which you have no control but your mind is alert, active and aware that this is the best you can expect. The worst is so horrible that it is better to look away.

The ultimate story is breathtaking in its brevity and excruciating in its description. By acknowledging the gift of life in exchange for the loss of another Lisa Genova brings into focus not only what the victims of ALS suffer but the terrible toll it takes on family care givers. This is a story about a ferocious disease told by an insightful, skilled author.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for a copy

As in her previous books, Lisa Genova gives a realistic and emotional portrayal of what it is like to have a life-threatening neurological disease. This book gives insight into how a family, already broken, copes with the diagnosis and progression of ALS. It's a heartbreaking story, showing how devastating the disease is, but it's also a moving story as Genova's characters show compassion and forgiveness. Readers will learn more about ALS from a technical, medical point of view while also gaining an understanding of the impact such a disease has on family and relationships.

This is a very depressing book, which only made it harder for me to read and get into it. Richard is a world known concert pianist, who definitely knows how accomplished he is and how the crowds adore him. Then, he gets an ALS diagnosis, and finds everything that once was so easy for him, gradually gets harder and harder to do and his career has ended. His one-time, now divorced wife Karina also is an also accomplished pianist. However, years ago, Karina let her would-be career go for the sake of her marriage and motherhood. Now, after years of gradually growing farther and farther apart, Karina has become Richard’s reluctant caretaker. As time passes, the pair try to reconcile their life together-- their love, their hopes and dreams, the reasons things turned out as they did. They have a college-aged daughter, Grace, who is likewise caught up in the marriage and its after dramatic effects, though Grace does not play a big role in the story.

I really had difficulty reading this book. It was well done and realistic, as the reader moved, along with Richard, in the throes of this terrible, devastating disease. The stark reality of ALS and what it can and will do to one’s body became very apparent and consuming. I am not sure the author should have had the pair divorced, with a myriad of other problems besides the disease. I wondered, as I read, if this might be what was putting the story over the top, making it so very difficult to read and enjoy. I also am not sure about the characters, as neither Richard nor Karina came across as really all that likeable to me. It was tough to become an observer of their mixed up and unhappy lives. I am not sure if it would have been easier to take if they had been a happily married couple coping with the very worst that life can throw at you. I just know I had a lot of difficulty getting into and staying with this story. I have read other books by this author, and, as with this one, she definitely brings the reader right into the middle of things and does a superb job illustrating the disease and its effects. Her descriptions of life with ALS were very real and interesting, though I almost could not take it some of the time. This is a very real story of what ALS does to one, as well as how things can go from wrong to right (sort of) and never quite get back on an even keel in a marriage or in life. I am not sure which kind of reader will enjoy this one. It can be difficult to take and read, but it also provides a good picture of ALS and its devastation, while showing the life of two broken individuals who try desperately to pick up the pieces but never seem to quite get things right. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

First, I need to mention that I received an egalley of this novel, in exchange for a honest review. Like all of Lisa Genova's previous novels, this novel does not fail. Right from the beginning,, I connected with the characters of Karina and Richard and their storylines. It was full of heart, sadness, and knowledge about the effects of ALS, not only on the person suffering but for the family and friends that are connected to that person. I suggest that you pick up this novel, if you would like a good story and would like to learn more about ALS.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of Every Note Played.

Lisa Genova can expose a wretched disease in a raw and humbling way like no one can. I learned so much about Alzheimer's by reading Finding Alice, and so much about Huntington's when I read Inside the O'brien's. This time I got a harsh close up look at ALS in this story of Every Note Played.

First off, let me say that aside from really doing her research about the disease that her book is centered around, Genova can tell a story! Her stories are complex and gripping, as well as educational. In Every Note Played, our ALS victim is Richard, who is currently divorced and estranged from his one daughter Grace. Adding insult to injury, Richard is a world renowned concert pianist who discovers his disease when he loses his abilities to play the piano the way he is accustomed to.

Richard, being a bit of a free loving wreck loose, doesn't have a strong support network, or anyone that is exceptionally close to him. Enter Karina, his ex-wife, who has as much contempt for him as he does for her. But not enough to leave him alone, without care, and in the grips of this paralyzing disease.

Just like Genova's other novels, this was not easy to read. They don't end well, we know this going in. But I also really appreciate how much I learn when I read them because now I have such a stronger understanding of these diseases, as well as compassion.

Every Note Played did not pack the emotional punch for me that other novels by Lisa Genova, but it was an immersing and realistic depiction of the struggles of living with ALS, or caring for someone with the disease. I found the animosity between the main characters a bit undeveloped - the back story that was presented didn't seem to justify the level of almost hate that they felt for each other, and it honestly didn't make a ton of sense when she elected to be his primary caregiver. But, the bones of the story were good, and I did thoroughly enjoy it overall.

As a special education teacher and six weeks shy of completing my master's degree in special education, I loved the book. I think it painted a realistic picture not only of the debilitating disease, ALS, but the anger and other feelings that come with losing control of your body. Many people who never had control also struggle with these feelings. Richard's fast plummet into paralysis was sad yet realistic to anyone going through ALS or other diseases that leave its victims paralyzed, a shell of their past self.
I found some of the assistive technology mentioned fascinating like the HeadMouse. It's amazing how technology has been able to help make the lives of people easier than anything they may have experienced only a decade ago.
The feelings between Richard and Karina are so realistic for a divorced couple. The irony between the divorce and "death do us part" in this book is sad yet satisfying. Their growing relationship shows how sometimes life is so much more important than a divorce and Karina's love for Richard, even divorced is honorable and heartwarming. The hatred she feels for Richard is overcome with her compassion as a human being and she slowly learns to look past his flaws and begin to forgive and come to peace with where their lives have taken them. Her feelings of resentment are very understandable and I ended up feeling bad for all parties involved for all of the different reasons they're suffering.
Lisa Genova did a great job painting the hardships and disappointments of ALS and also painting a picture of relationships. The feelings involved were realistic and she did not set out to make our characters perfect just because of the disease. It was a great read  and very informative no matter if you were interested in the ALS portion or the character developments.
The many references to Stephen Hawking were surreal. They were important in understanding the disease if you were unfamiliar with it. It was surprising being that Stephen Hawking just died, clearly after the book was written but before it was published. It's a sad thought.
All in all, I loved it. It was inspiring, sad, and eye opening beautiful.

Richard Evans loves music. He loves it so much that he chooses his career as a classical pianist over his family. Conflict reigns in his household, but it doesn't matter as long as he has access to his art...

We all know where this is heading. For Richard, diagnosed with ASL is equivalent to dropping dead. His music career is no more now that he cannot use his hands, and as he tackles with this life-threatening illness, and the heartbreak and despair that come with it, he encounters some important revelations, and must decide what's important in life.

"He can feel it coming, an invisible presence creeping, like ions charged and buzzing in the air before an approaching electrical storm, and all he can do is lie still and wait for it to pass through him."

This is not an easy read. Lisa Genova writes a beautiful and compelling story about passion and priorities, and how one blurs the other. More important, one should not outdo the other, especially with your marriage and children. The writing transports you, the message moves you, and the message -- while difficult -- is on point. If you're in the bargain for a literary novel with heart, I suggest you read this wonderful book. I give it five iced Cinnamon Almond Milk Macchiatos.