Learning about how the brain works and why some memories are easily retrieved while others need to be worked at made this book an interesting read. Learning how to train your brain to remember and forget is quite the concept, and Lisa Genova does a great job of breaking it all down and explaining the why behind memory. Can you completely prevent memory loss? No. But there are things you can do to help make your brain healthier and smarter so that memory loss is slowed.

A great primer on how memory (and forgetting) work in the human brain. What is normal to forget (and reasons why we do). Genova also outlines how Alzheimer’s differs from normal memory loss and preventative steps as well as tips to improve daily normal memory. Clearly and well written.

I’ve been a huge fan of Lisa Genova’s fiction. And I have family members that have had or are suffering from dementia. So, it was an easy decision to read her nonfiction book on memory and how we remember.
I immediately appreciated her putting my fears to rest. All those “forgotten” memories? They weren’t forgotten. They were never formed in the first place because I wasn’t paying attention!
The book truly is fascinating. Genova consistently assures us we are not losing our minds. Tip of tongue forgetfulness is not a sign of Alzheimer’s. Progressive memory is the worst, just use a damn to do list.
She employs many personal stories to keep the book from being dry. I highly recommend this book to anyone worried about their aging brains. And she even gives you some tips to help. I especially appreciated being told relying on Google wouldn’t cause my poor aging memory to suffer.
My thanks to netgalley and Rodale for an advance copy of this book.

I received an ARC of Remember from NetGalley. This is the 6th book written by Lisa Genova and I have read them all. This is her first non-fiction book, an excellent dissertation on the subject of memory.

I wondered how the author would make a non-fiction work be as interesting and entertaining as her novels. Her novels have strong, compelling characters. What Lisa Genova does in Remember is use vivid examples extensively to illustrate her points. And she also brings is some real life characters to assist in explaining aspects of memory. Some of the characters have great memories, some not. She also uses examples from her own life, where she has experiences like yours and mine, to explain how memory works.

Besides learning a lot about how memory works, you gain an understanding from this book of what to expect from a normal memory. Everyone forgets things. Nobody remembers everything.

You also learn ways to improve your memory. Do you want to be better at remembering the names of people you meet? This book has some great techniques that can work.

Finally, the book finishes up with a discussion about Alzheimer's disease. What causes it? How can it be prevented?

Lisa Genova has a brilliant mind and communicates her knowledge in an easy-to-understand way. This book is as strong as any of her novels.

Whenever Lisa Genova comes out with a book, I cannot wait to get my hands on it. I have loved every single book she has written. This book is nonfiction, and it tackles why we lose memories sometimes and other times, we don’t. It was fascinating to read and she herself is a genius. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

2.5 stars, rounded down.

When I saw Lisa Genova had out a new book, I immediately requested it. Like much of the world, I was taken by <i>Still Alice</i> and also liked her other novels. <i>Remember</i> follows Genova's expertise in brain and memory, but is an attempt to explain the different ways memory processes, stores information, and fails us in layman's terms. For me, the book felt <i>too</i> dumbed down. The explanations were redundant. I found myself getting irritated with the circular writing and repetitive examples (how many times is Genova going to mention the annoyance of walking into a room and forgetting what you went there for? The different ways the "tip of the tongue" exhibits?). The writing itself was poorly edited; it read like a casual conversation with a friend instead of a thoughtful analysis of neuroscience. For me, Genova's apparent intent to balance a complex topic with easy readability failed--she didn't find the appropriate middle ground.

What most interested me: learning about people with accurate autobiographical memory--wow. Can you imagine remembering vividly <i>every single day</i> of your life? There is a lot of interesting information in <i>Remember</i>, but the composition didn't work for me.

Not recommended. Thank you to the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved this story! Looking forward to reading more books by this author! Highly recommend!

A fascinating informative block at our memories how we remember what we forget.Lisa Genova explains the science of memory in a clear manner that is easy to understand .Like her novels I was drawn in and learned a lot of valuable information.Will be recommending,# netgalley # Rosalesboojs

I received this book through NetGalley and Harmony, Rodale Inc., the Crown Publishing group through Penguin Random House LLC. I was excited to get to read this book early. I was at first taken aback that it was a non-fiction, but I quickly became engaged and enticed by the subject matter. My grandfather suffered from dementia, and it was hard to watch over the years. The facets of memory that Lisa Genova spoke about in Remember helped me to realize that these everyday memory lapses can be caused by so many things, including the fact that you never made a memory in the first place.
She broke the book into three parts, How We Remember, Why We Forget, and Improve or Impair. It was eye opening to read about memory and the technical neuroscience behind memory, forgetting, and some of the likely causes of Alzheimer’s Disease. If you are worried that the book may be too technical for you, the author weaves in life experiences and information about people with incredible memories, so the technical information does not seem so mind boggling or overwhelming like other books I have read in the past.
In How We Remember, I really liked the fact that the author knows that you may not remember everything or that certain memories from your past will likely fade over time, but creating new memories is so important. One of the things she mentions about how best to remember is to pay attention. Put that phone down and focus on one thing at a time; I know I am bad about this. I will be watching something on television and playing a game on my phone, or someone will talk to me and I am checking an email. It is important to pay attention and focus on one task at a time to really remember it. I also liked the fact that the author knows it is okay to use devices to help us remember, like adding events to a calendar, writing, or typing things out for to do lists, and sharing moments to social media to help us better remember our memories and what happened.
In Why We Forget, one thing stood out to me something fierce. Genova spoke about Tip of the Tongue or TOTs, times when we know we know something but cannot figure out what it is. She used the example of not knowing the actor who plays Tony Soprano (gabagool) and using google to find the answer. I experience this very often and one happened over the holidays of 2020 for me around the time I read this book. I was making a protein shake after working out and I just blurted out Craig, but how you would say the name from the movie Friday. I remember a scene from a show or movie, likely a comedy, where the character Craig said his name to the main characters but they said it incorrectly and he corrected them. I could not for the life of me remember what it was from. It took me all day and finally laying down to go to bed for me to place that scene from an episode of the show Psych where a prison guard named Craig lost two of the prisoners and he was introducing himself to Shawn and Gus. It was a serious TOT moment.
In Improve or Impair, Genova focuses on things that can exacerbate Alzheimer’s Disease and how to prevent it. There were some technical pieces in the book about how people can get Alzheimer’s Disease and how you can do things to prevent these issues from getting worse. I loved the chapter on Sleep because we all need to remember that sleep helps us in so many aspects of life, not just brain function, but other bodily functions as well. It is said that adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. The author also mentions in this part of the book that having multiple cups of coffee every day can help with reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, but you should not have a cup close to bedtime as it can disrupt sleep. Mom, you can drink all the coffee you want!
I enjoyed reading this non-fiction book because it gave some really great information about memory and how to strengthen memory. I did not think it was too technical, but it did talk a lot about Alzheimer’s Disease which I know is a big part of the authors life. If you enjoy reading non-fiction, I recommend this book. It was a quick read and had some important tips for remembering.

How do we remember? How do our brains store memories and recall them? What impacts memory? How can we improve our memory? Divided into 3 parts: How We Remember, Why We Forget, and Improve or Repair, this book answers all these questions and more.

Sound boring? Let me assure you it is anything but. The author has a PhD from Harvard in neuroscience but just as she does with her fiction books, she writes in a conversational way, using personal experiences from her own life to make the information more accessible.

A few teasers:
- Forgetting is good! We are supposed to forget things. Remembering everything would be a curse (whew…)
- Will using Google make my memory skills lazy? (nope! Yay!)
- Red wine, chocolate, and working crossword puzzles helps memory. Nope, sorry, just kidding! Sadly, these are myths that have no research or scientific basis to back them up. But Lisa does have a chapter in what WILL help memory.
- Multitasking is prized in our culture but is a death knell to memory
- in the author's words, episodic memory is like a wide-eyed preschooler at Walt Disney World who believes everything they see and think (spoiler alert: your memories of past events are probably wrong) and prospective memory for future events is your flaky friend who likes to make plans but is most often a no-show (I can relate!)

The above is just a fraction of what is covered, all of it fascinating. The author deals with the subject of memory with incredible compassion for those with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Memory loss is heartbreaking and frustrating but it isn’t everything. Their lives still matter. Memory isn’t needed for feeling the full range of emotions, especially to love and be loved. The person may not know who you are but they know love. My mother lost her memory before she died last year. She didn’t know who I was but she knew I was someone who loved her. Her face would light up when I walked in her room and each visit ended with an “I love you.” It doesn’t take memory to love and be loved. As Lisa says: “Take it seriously. Hold it lightly.”

Now I’m off to do some yoga and go to bed early, both of which help memory.

Who am I kidding? I'll probably have a glass of red wine and go to bed late, but at least now I'm thinking about changing my bad habits 😊

4 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐+
The title of this book is "Remember: the Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting"
Author Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist. She earned her undergraduate degree from Bates College in
biopsychology and holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard.
I have read Lisa Genova's book "Inside the O’Briens".. I really enjoyed it. However, at that time I never wrote much in the way of a review so only make a comment.
My comment was …....."The O’Briens will stay with you long after you close the book".
Hmm I wish I had written more … as I complete forgot all about the O’Briens.
Counting on this book to help me!

Since I am not a big Nonfiction fan, I was a bit intimidated and fearful that it was going to be full of science lingo and I would think… “What it she trying to say?” Well she does say what she is trying to say in terms we can relate.
Trust me this book is sooo helpful!!
I highly recommend it.💞

Want to thank NetGalley and Rodale Inc. for this early release his file has been made available to me for professional review purposes only. Opinions expressed in this review are from my own memory!
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 23, 2021

This is a wonderful, informative book on memory and how we remember things or not, and why.
It is written in sections, with many day to day examples given to assist with our understanding of this interesting subject.
This book also puts my mind at ease that I am not losing "it" yet.

Lisa Genova has an awesome way with words and explaining intricate subjects and this one is ten stars!

After finishing Lisa Genova’s new book Remember, I breathed a sigh of relief. I know many of us worry about forgetting, about the loss of memory, of having the start of Alzheimer's that if we misplace our keys, we are in a panic state.

However Dr Genova assures us that this is natural and gives us some solid ideas about how to help our memory and ultimately the functionality of our brain.

Dr Genova delves into the various parts of our amazing brain and How each section functions as not only a thinking processor but also the way we retain information. She cautions us that some of the information presented to us is not yet proven. I will say I was disappointed to find that red wine is not the panacea it is reported to be! 😢

All of us age and for many we do not have the brain we had in our twenties. But take heart, anything we learn does increase our brain’s capacity, so keep reading all!

I have always enjoyed Dr Genova’s books and this one was no exception. I recommend it to those who want that assurance that forgetting something is natural and a part of the maturing process. Don’t panic if your phone goes missing, but do perhaps raise an eyebrow if you find it in the refrigerator!

I really enjoy Lisa Genova's books. So I was super excited to be able to read a non-fiction book about memory. I have a history with dementia in my family so any lapse in memory makes me a little nervous. I enjoyed reading about how to improve your memory and understanding what normal forgetfulness is really like. I feel like Lisa writes in a way that informs everyone. She is articulate and precise. If dementia has affected you or you are worried about you forgetting what seems like simple things, I would highly recommend this book to you.

Thank you to Rosedale for granting my wish to read this book through NetGalley.

This was a super interesting read that kept my attention. As a school psychologist, this brought back lots of information that I learned in grad school, but it was presented in such an interesting and informative way. Genova's fiction background no doubt helped her write an informative, readable book that really made me think about the nature of remembering and forgetting. Enjoyed this very much.

I received an electronic copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy. Lisa’s books are some of my favourite, and while what I’ve read as usually a fictional based book; this non fiction book is as full of information for anyone curious about the brain, memory and Alzheimer’s. From the reasons why things happen, to different storage areas of the brain, to possible prevention of this disease Lisa takes you deep inside to learn more about what our brains do. If you’re interested in memory, If someone you know has been stolen because of Alzheimer’s, or you’re worried about what you can do as you age to help with general memory loss, what’s “normal” and when to seek medical advice definitely pick this up. It’s non fiction, it’s a little text book, but definitely gives you real life, in depth information about our memory.

Such a fascinating, and interesting read about memory by Lisa Genova, who I have enjoyed her stories about Alzheimer's and memory loss. I wish I had read this book when I was in college. Genova has such an easy explanation for how the brain works and how we remember things. It is such a relief to know if we do not remember something does not mean something is wrong with us, but rather we have not processed it or paid enough attention in order to process it to store it in our memory. It all sounds so simple and makes sense. I really learned a lot from her examples and explanation. I get that this may also have something to do with reading a book and it not making sense. Genova can create the perfect combination of words to make it engaging and comprehendible.

Thank you to NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published March 23, 2021.

I’m a big fan of Lisa Genova’s fiction books (Still Alice, Every Note Played) but this was my first time reading a nonfiction book by her. Her PhD in Neuroscience from Harvard plus her skill at writing makes this a fascinating read. I learned a lot about how the memory works and things we can do to strengthen our memories.

Original review posted on GoodReads.

I had never read any books by Lisa Genova when starting Remember, but I’m thinking that will have to change. Remember was a deep dive into memory, something I have struggled with my whole life. It explains the science behind remembering and forgetting. The book was interesting and engaging and would be a great read for anybody interested in learning more about memory and how interesting our brains are!

I am a big fan of Lisa Genova. She has a PhD from Harvard in neuroscience, but is able to write novels that touch all of us at a personal level. I have read all of her works of fiction and was interested if she could hold my attention with a nonfiction book about the brain and our memory. As usual, she gets an A.
Remember is a technical book about the function of the brain based on the latest research. However, it is never dry or boring. The author gives practical advice on how to maximize our capacity to remember. She also reassures us about natural memory loss and how that differs from Alzheimer’s disease.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.