Lisa Genova Revealed
About Lisa Genova
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What is your birthdate?:11/22
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Previous occupations:Lab technician, NIH Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School Neuroanatomy Instructor, Healthcare Industry Strategy Consultant, actress
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Favorite job:Writing
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High school and/or college:Waltham High School, Bates College, Harvard University
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Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:Ani DiFranco
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Favorite movie:Before Sunset, Beautiful Girls, Million Dollar Baby, 21 Grams, Marley & Me
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Favorite television show:Six Feet Under, Friends, So You Think You Can Dance
Revealing Questions
- Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
- A. Blessed, expressive, unplanned, increasingly fearless, hopeful, in love
- Q. What is your motto or maxim?
- A. Say YES whenever possible
- Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
- A. My children's faces lighting up when excited about something. Pure joy!Or, if I've changed too many diapers and listened to endless whining that day....Me and my husband with no kids at our favorite beach on a hot summer day.
- Q. What’s your greatest fear?
- A. One of my kids dying
- Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
- A. Only because it's winter, Tuscany. Otherwise, exactly where I am.
- Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
- A. My grandmother
- Q. Which living person do you most admire?
- A. Julia Fox Garrison
- Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
- A. Wicked, awesome, and wicked awesome
- Q. What do you regret most?
- A. Not traveling when I was in my twenties
- Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
- A. I wish I could sing.
- Q. What is your greatest achievement?
- A. Still Alice
- Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
- A. Probably impatience. I'll go ask my husband, he'll know.
- Q. What’s your best quality?
- A. I'm always open to new ideas, new people
- Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
- A. I'm pretty happy being me. I wouldn't mind being Kate Winslet for a day while she's acting. She blows me away.
- Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
- A. Physically? Probably my Italian nose.
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
- A. Owen Meany, Harry Potter, Junie B Jones
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
- A. Let me think about it
- Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
- A. Shakespeare. Tell me everything.
- Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
- A. Spitting
- Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
- A. Acting
- Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
- A. I'd be an actress or a dancer
- Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
- A. honesty, adventure, compassion
- Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
- A. Chocolate
- Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
- A. 32 Flavors, Fire Door, St Judy's Comet, Fields of Gold, Amazing Grace
On Books and Writing
- Q. Who are your favorite authors?
- A. Oliver Sacks, Bill Bryson, Ann Hood, Julia Fox Garrison, Garth Stein, Heidi Durrow, Helen Simonson, Jamie Ford, Luis Alberto Urrea, Steven Pinker, Tom Robbins, Tom Perrotta, Brunonia Barry, Jodi Picoult, Shakespeare
- Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
- A. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
Spoon River Anthology
The Art of Racing in the Rain
Don't Leave Me This Way
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
- A. Life is too short to reread. That said, I really should reread The Lace Reader.
- Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
- A. Just do it! You won't be here forever.
- Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
- A. "I couldn't put it down" and "Thank you."
