Lisa Genova always manages to teach us so much — about illness, about life, and about relationships. This time, she tackled ALS, which I've know of, of course, but didn't know how quickly and how debilitating it could be.
This story is sad, yes, but this is also a novel of love, courage, second chances, responsibility and family. I liked getting a look into the hardships of caregivers, the fear of failing, and the amazing people who make this their career. It is humbling, scary, and emotionally engages the reader. Genova is an author who does her research and brings to us things that need to be seen, that aren't always. And by doing so, both informatively and personally, she has created another unforgettable story.

This was a sad book that brought out so many emotions for me. It was bursting at the seams with regret, and ultimately, forgiveness.
This man. This sad, hardened, arrogant, talented man made my heart break. I can't begin to imagine how it feels to know that you're dying. And to know that the death is going to be miserable. To know what is coming next, to wait for it and then check it off the list, just to wait for the next terrible thing. The characters in this book were easy to fall in love with, to root for, and to mourn. Thank you for this.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Books for an ARC of Every Note Played. Lisa Genova writes with so much respect and compassion, that even a book about living with ALS is beautiful. I learned a lot from reading this book and I would recommend it to everyone.

Richard and Karina are the main characters of this new book. Newly divorced, they are both pianists who met at school and quickly married. At first Richard, the more famous of the two, thinks he just has tendinitis. He is then diagnosed with ALS and instead of telling anyone he goes into denial. By the time he loses both of his arms Karina has discovered and accepts the fact that he must come back and live at their family home. What follows is his quick decline and their changing relationship with each other and their 18 year old daughter. I didn't know much about ALS, I'm not sure many do past the ice bucket challenge, and I learned so much. I highly recommend this poignant story.

Once again, I learned a great deal reading this novel. It was heart-wrenching and beautiful. Lisa Genova is an athor I often recommend. The feedback from patrons is always heartfelt gratitude.

Gripping and tender and real. Gritty and passionate and honest. There are so many words to describe all the emotions this book evokes. Most of all, though, it draws back the curtain on an experience most of us could never imagine. Yes, it's a tough read, but oh so worth it.

Every Note Played is another masterpiece by Lisa Genova. It is the heartbreaking story of Richard, a world reknown pianist, who is diagnosed with ALS at the height of his career. As the disease progresses, Karina, his ex-wife is the only real choice to be a care giver for him. Their relationship is at the forefront in this story...both with each other and with their daughter. Will they be able to reconcile before Richard draws his last breath? A compelling novel, which grips you from the first page to the last.

Beautifully written, this book left me a sobbing mess. I fell in love with each of the main characters, and my heart broke as their story was unveiled. ALS is a horrific disease. This book will be one that will stay with me forever.

The more I read, the more I truly loved this powerful, emotional novel about a man with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. I was so absorbed that I read it within a day, reading all through the night as well. I’ve read all of Lisa Genova’s novels and adored them all, but this novel is my new favourite.
Richard and Karina are divorced. He is a serial adulterer whose love for his wife was tainted by secrets. He is a confident, dominant man and some might say he is totally obnoxious. He is also a world renowned virtuoso concert pianist, passionate about classical music. He is driven, workaholic and dedicated to further his own career and fame. His ex-wife, a Polish immigrant called Karina, stayed at home raising their daughter and teaching piano in her own front room. Truth be told, she sacrificed her ambitions so that her husband could receive the accolade he craved, even though her talent shone through brightly.
Living separately now and shunned by his daughter, Richard is struck down by ALS. The use of his arms is taken one at a time as the disease wreaks havoc with his life. He employs carers but gradually and progressively he cannot manage without full time care. Locked in a useless body he re-evaluates his life and is staggered when Karina offers to take him in and be there for him. He moves back home. They both still hurt, their betrayals a ghost from their past, but this story is about learning to forgive, the relief of apology, acceptance and the healing brought by moving on in life and being selfless.
Lisa Genova was inspired to write ‘Every Note Played’ by the people she met and loved who were cruelly struck by this degenerative and fast moving disease. She undertook exhaustive research into ALS, interviewing caregivers, physicians, therapists, ALS sufferers, musical geniuses and more experts in their fields. With a Ph.D. in Neuroscience to help inform her writing, Lisa has written a masterful, incredibly detailed and totally fascinating medical drama. Her wonderfully crafted characters compliment this richly evocative story as does her fluid, lyrical and authoritative storyline.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Allen & Unwin for my copy of this novel, sent to me in return for an honest review. This is a superb stand out novel within this genre with a very well deserved all round 5* review from me.

Every Note Played is a meticulously crafted unputdownable novel. This is a story about love, sacrifice, forgiveness, and the devastating effects of ALS. I loved every page of this brilliant book. Every Note Played is about a concert pianist, Richard, who suffers from ALS. The reader will experience as I did, along with Richard, the horrendous overwhelming grief, and sadness, that comes from losing control of each and every part of your body. It’s also a story about Karina, Richard’s ex-wife and the extraordinary sacrifice that she makes on a daily basis, for the man who emotionally crushed her. And, lastly, it’s a story about love, true, unconditional love, and what that really means.

I’ve read every one of Lisa Genova’s books and have loved them all. Every Note Played is a five-star quality book. Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist and has the extraordinary ability to break down the facts about complex disorders into bite-size, fascinating, and comprehensible pieces. I had a fair knowledge about ALS before reading this book; but after reading, Every Note Played, I have a whole new understanding of exactly what happens physically, mentally and emotionally to a person who is stricken with this hideous disease.

The story itself is heart-wrenching as well as heartwarming. The characters are fully developed, realistic and life-like. I found this book, unforgettable and impossible to put down. If you haven’t discovered Lisa Genova yet, you are in for a treat. She is a magnificent writer, and one, that once you start reading her books, you’ll want to go back and read every single book she has written. Lisa Genova is one of my favorite authors. I plan on reading everything she writes.

Thank you, Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley, for my advanced review copy. I absolutely loved it!

Lisa Genova never fails to produce well written, well researched, though provoking books. Every Note Played is no exception. Highly recommend.

I have gone hot and cold with Lisa Genova's books in the past. Every Note Played, however, hits a nice sweet spot between the story and the disease that has been missing for me during some of the other books I have read by this author. My heart broke a little bit reading about the classically trained pianist who was struggling with his ALS diagnosis and the slow atrophy that occurs as a part of this awful disease. Anyone who has suffered from this disease and the choices you must make as a result knows about the devastation that it causes. Genova's choice to make the sufferer fully dependent on the use and mastery of his muscles to fulfill his passion and his career was especially poignant.

The loss of a star only comes from the sudden turn that happened between Karina and Richard. The turn in their relationship seemed sudden and extreme and wholly unrealistic. Fortunately, this flaw didn't detract from the remainder of the story and even my stoic heart got emotional in the ending scenes.

Thank you to Ms. Genova, Gallery/Scout Press and Netgalley for allowing me to access this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Our scene opens on a concert pianist who has recently found out that he has ALS. He has a contentious relationship with his ex-wife Karina, also a pianist. I️ am immediately drawn to this story since I️ play piano and losing the use of my hands in this case is almost unfathomable.
This book masterfully put me in the shoes of someone who is swiftly losing the ability to do things for themselves while concurrently explaining how the disease is affecting the body. Lisa Genova is clearly knowledgeable in the field as she is a neuroscientist herself but she makes the topic approachable and personal.
This book is at times touching and alternately very personal for me having helped care for a parent who slowly lost movement and ultimately went on hospice. I highly encourage everyone to read this.

Another beautiful and thought provoking book from Lisa Genova.
It is raw yet profoundly moving; it is a novel about both holding on and letting go.
This novel charts the cruel progress of ALS as Richard's life (as he knows it) is gradually changed and stripped away. His family is fractured and they are holding on to past grievances whilst dealing with the Earthquake that is ALS. The character's imperfections make them relatable and believable and whilst I didn't warm to them immediately, Lisa Genova was able to take me to their world and make me care very deeply.

Thank You Net Galley for the free ARC.
I have read every one of Lisa Genova's books because I like the general premise. All books deal with neurological disorders that are often scary to even think about. My favorites were Still Alice and Inside the O'Briens so far. This book will be right up there with them. The topic this time is ALS. To imagine to go from a fully functioning and even gifted person, as in the case of a concert pianist, to someone who has to worry about swallowing their own spit is unthinkable. As is the burden this places on families and care givers. Very thoughtfully done!

As usual, author Lisa Genova brings a reader through the life and heartache of a terminal illness with expert care. I found the story unique in that she shows life with ALS from the eyes of not only the patient but also through the eyes of people around him.
Richard, a famous concert pianist, recently divorced from Karina, and estranged father to Grace, is diagnosed with ALS, a paralyzing disease. As his career ends, and his ALS progresses, Richard finds himself alone with no one to help him through this terminal disease. Until Karina inadvertently finds herself agreeing to be his caregiver.
A wonderful, sad, honest look at a horrible disease. I loved it.

Every Note Played is another amazing story by the very talented Lisa Genova.This book, like her others, is deeply and extensively researched. ALS is a terrible and debilitating disease. Through her characters, Richard(the concert pianist suffering from ALS), Karina (ex-wife), and Grace(their daughter), the reader understands the emotional toll the family member undertakes with each action expressed or labored over. This is a story about letting go, forgiving oneself and others, and ultimately freedom…of a disease and a life renewed.
The author takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride from the very first page and does not let us off that ride until the story concludes. There is a myriad of detailed and visual descriptions that one cannot help but be part of the story…totally and utterly engaged in these characters’ lives.
The author also sheds light on the role of caregivers, the financial burden of this debilitating disease, and the many drugs, equipment, and technology needed to make the patient as comfortable and functional as possible.
With this story, Lisa Genova has most effectively given voice to a disease that robs a person of their sense of self, their dignity, and ultimately their life. This is a book you will remember long after the final page is read.

Right from the beginning you will feel a part of this story.
You will feel the descriptions of the music and the playing of the piano.

A distinguished piano player cancels his tour due to ALS diagnosis.

ALS
the descriptions the feelings the symptoms the changes
completely had me engrossed in every word.

I will look at ALS completely different from now on.
I could not stop reading!!
I highly recommend this book!!!

Lisa Genova has written a beautiful book about a terrible subject, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Dusease). She is able to draw the reader into the lives of the two victims, the patient and the caregiver. She shows equal sensitivity to both.

It is rare for an author to depict suffering, not only that of the victim, Richard but of his ex-wife who has taken on the role of caregiver. This book was incredibly poignant for me, having been the sole caregiver of an Alzheimer’s patient. The loneliness, the anger and the frustration at dealing with this monster are clear. Is this book about Karina or Richard Evans, world famous pianist struck down in his prime by this fearsome invader?

Genova has managed to study both sides of this horrific equation and give voice to the pain of both. The medical details are both accurate and frightening. I have rarely read a book so stirring. I thank Genova for this incredible, deeply sensitive book.