I can’t remember the last time a book made me cry. I mean, there are books that I can’t put down and will finish in a day or so, but to have tears flowing down my cheeks? It’s been a long, long time, if ever. I’m usually stoic when it comes to book reading, but all it takes is that one novel.

So what is the novel that reduced me to tears one late night last week? It was “Every Note Played” by Lisa Genova. I was introduced to this author several years ago with “Still Alice” about a college professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Genova never disappoints, and her latest was definitely a tear-jerker, especially at the end.

Genova is a neuroscientist, so main characters in her novels tend to have a neurological disorder, whether it’s Huntington’s Disease in “Inside the O’Briens” or left neglected, caused by a traumatic brain injury in “Left Neglected.”

In “Every Note Played,” Richard is a concert pianist who is diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at age 45. He’s slowly being affected by the disease, and at first his right arm is paralyzed. His ex-wife Karina, who is also an accomplished pianist, gave up her dreams when she got married and she and Richard had a daughter, Grace. She’s a piano teacher who hasn’t moved on, and she feels a lot of bitterness toward Richard who basically chose the piano over his own family.

But when ALS continues to rob Richard of his body and he is no longer to care for himself, he goes to live in his former house with Karina, who serves as caregiver. It’s an interesting turn of events, but it’s also tough to see how the disease affects both Richard and Karina. You feel bad for Richard who can only look at his grand piano, knowing that he can never play again, and you also feel for Karina and her dashed dreams of becoming a jazz pianist. Genova’s prose and details made the novel captivating — I flew through it.

In part of the description from Amazon: “When Richard becomes increasingly paralyzed and is no longer able to live on his own, Karina becomes his reluctant caretaker. As Richard’s muscles, voice, and breath fade, both he and Karina try to reconcile their past before it’s too late.”

My father’s youngest brother passed away from ALS several years ago, and one of my high school classmates died from it in his late 30s. So as I read the novel, I thought of them. And I agree with the review by the Wall Street Journal — Genova is far more serious and readable, concerned as much with depicting the clinical realities of ALS as in wringing it for emotional catharsis. You might drop a few tears reading “Every Note Played,” but you won’t feel bullied into doing so.

Needless to say I recommend “Every Note Played.” Even though Richard was a jerk toward his wife when they were married, he does become a redeemable character.

On my reading plate is “The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World” by Sarah Weinman. I had listened to an interview with the author on NPR a few weeks ago and it sounded interesting. But the reviews on Amazon are kinda lacking as there’s only 10, and a third of them are one star. I’m only a chapter in, so I don’t really have much of an opinion yet. The same goes for my book club’s October selection “Mrs. Kennedy and Me” by Clint Hill, a former Secret Service agent who served presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. It’s interesting so far, and I hopefully will have a majority of it read by next Wednesday.