Sarah asked Lisa Genova:

Hi Lisa I have read all your books and am fascinated by how much you know about each area. How long does it take you to do the research and what kind of research do you do? Looking forward eagerly to your new books release!! Thanks Sarah

Lisa Genova Thank you so much, Sarah. I typically do 4-6 months of research before I begin writing. This involves reading text books, scientific research papers, and nonfiction accounts; watching documentary and educational films; interviewing/shadowing scientists and the medical community (general practice physicians, neurologists, nurses, genetic counselors, rehab specialists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, Hospice workers); spending time with people who have the diseases/conditions and their families and caregivers. I continue doing the research--spending time with families, looping back with doctors--over the next year plus that I'm actually writing the story. EVERY NOTE PLAYED is my most intensively researched book to date. I'm always trying to tell the truth under the imagined circumstances of the story, and I feel an enormous responsibility to get the facts right.

I also research other aspects of the book. So for example, in EVERY NOTE PLAYED, the two main characters are pianists. So I interviewed concert, classical, and jazz pianists; I went to piano concerts; I read books about classical piano and jazz; I spent time listening to jazz in New Orleans; I listened to music as I wrote; and I actually took piano lessons!

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