All About Lisa Genova Trivia Quiz

Answer: neuroscience

Neuroscience is a field in which the structure and function of the brain and nervous system are studied. In addition to her Harvard Ph.D., Genova also graduated with honors from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology. Bates College is located in Lewiston, Maine.

Answer: "Still Alice", "Left Neglected", "Love Anthony", and "Inside the O'Briens"

"Still Alice" was self-published by Genova in 2007. "Left Neglected" was published in 2011 by Gallery Books. This same publisher released Genova's "Love Anthony" in 2012. In 2015, "Inside the O'Brien's" was published--again by Gallery Books. Genova's "Still Alice" was made into a movie in 2014. Julianne Moore, the actress who portrayed Alice, won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2015.

Answer: Alzheimer's Disease

The main character in the book "Still Alice" is diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease. At the young age of 50, the main character (Alice Howland) must reconcile her advancing Alzheimer's Disease with her previously-successful career, and with her relationships with her husband, and her three grown children.

This novel has been called unique, because the story is told from Alice's perspective, instead of from a spouse or caregiver perspective.

Answer: Autism

According to autismspeaks.org, 1 out of 42 boys and 1 out of 189 girls are diagnosed with autism in the U.S. In the novel "Love Anthony", readers see the lasting impact that four year-old Anthony (who has Autism and cannot speak) has on those who care for him. Most of the story takes place on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.

Answer: Traumatic brain injury

The main character in "Left Neglected" is injured in an automobile accident. The story takes place in Boston, where the main character, Sarah Nickerson, shifts from a high-powered executive to a patient struggling to rehabilitate after a head injury. Patients with the condition left neglect cannot see what is on the left side, and there are often mobility problems on the left side of the body.

Answer: Huntington's Disease

Huntington's Disease in an inherited disorder that causes destruction of brain cells and many neurologic problems. Offspring of an affected individual have a 1 in 2 chance of inheriting the gene that causes Huntington's and the disease, according to the novel.

The disease causes devastating and irreversible effects. In the novel, the O'Brien family, an Irish Catholic family in living near Boston, learns that their tough, policeman father has been diagnosed with Huntington's Disease. The O'Brien children, all young adults, struggle to deal with their father's progressing illness, and also must decide whether to find out if they, too, carry the gene that will produce the same diagnosis later in their own lives.

Answer: Professor of psychology

The main character in "Still Alice" is 50 year-old Alice Howland. At the beginning of the book, she is a professor of cognitive psychology at Harvard, with a subspecialty in linguistics. In the novel, Alice first becomes aware of her memory problem when she draws an uncharacteristic blank during a speech, and also when she becomes disoriented and momentarily lost while jogging near her home.

Answer: "Left Neglected"

Prior to her car accident, Sarah Nickerson loved downhill skiing at her vacation home in Vermont. A major turning-point in the novel is when Sarah learns to snowboard with the guidance of a disabled veteran following her accident. The great irony of this novel is that the accident and lasting injury helped Sarah learn that she was not living life to the fullest prior to the accident. Sarah learns to accept a more simple life throughout her struggle to recover.

Answer: Boston Red Sox baseball game

Near the end of the novel, the main character Joe O'Brien gets to attend a Red Sox game with family and his two great friends. Having left his job as a police officer, Joe can now attend the game, whereas before he could not due to always working security outside the ballpark on game days.

The effects of Joe's advancing disease are obvious at the game, but his family and friends support him at the event and Joe savors a Red Sox win and the time with his loved ones.

Answer: Massachusetts

According to the author's website, Genova is "happily divorced" and lives in The Bay State with her kids. Genova's first four novels are also set in Massachusetts.