114 Quotes by Lisa Genova

Anyone could be seduced by research when the results poured in. The trick was to love it when the results weren’t forthcoming, and the reasons why were elusive.

What she knew and understood, what she liked and disliked, how she felt and perceived; was also like a soap bubble, ever higher in the sky and more difficult to identify...

She imagines the keys under her fingers as she plays along with her mind’s ear, the motor plan unfolded like an old family recipe, still legible after so many years.

Why couldn’t they do that? Why couldn’t they hold on to each other and block out the world? Why couldn’t they surrender to what they couldn’t control? Why weren’t they brave enough to celebrate a life that included autism? She wanted to, and she thinks she eventually got there, but it took her too long. Just as she was ready to dance, the music stopped playing.

And, like a lightning strike, there is his example. His mother before him. The lesson that she passed down for him to pass on to his children – the courage to face every breath with love and gratitude.

Normal’s overrated.

Making him wrong allows her to feel right, and feeling right is her drug of choice.

But reading her journals has helped her to remember more than that morning. There was more to Anthony’s life than his death. And there was more to Anthony than his autism. So much more. She can think about Anthony now and not be consumed by autism or grief.

Jazz improvisation is a speech without a script. It’s twelve notes and doing anything she pleases. There are no rules, no boundaries. Verbs don’t have to follow nouns. There is no gravity. Up can be down.