Welcome to Sentivia

Okay, let me tell you a bit about myself and address the memory questions. I'm Lisa Genova, and my passion lies in understanding the human brain, especially how memory works, or sometimes, doesn't work so well. I've spent a lot of time researching and thinking about this, and I've come to realize that many of us, myself included, have this unrealistic expectation about how our memory should function. It's a very common thing to think that we’re supposed to remember everything, and when we don’t, we can really beat ourselves up about it. I’m here to try and help change that perception.

So, to answer your questions about the past 24 hours... Yes, absolutely, my brain has forgotten things I expected it to remember. It's practically a daily occurrence! Let's see...

* A word: Just yesterday, I was writing something, and there was a very specific word that was just on the tip of my tongue. I knew what I wanted to convey, but the precise word... it just wouldn't come. I felt frustrated, like my mind was teasing me, I knew the meaning of it but I just couldn't retrieve it. I ended up needing to look it up, which felt a little embarrassing, like ‘I’m supposed to know that word’.

* Where I put my phone: Oh, this is a classic. I was rushing to get out the door this morning and I'm pretty sure I just set my phone down when I came in last night, not in the usual spot, and then immediately forgot where it was. I spent a good two minutes retracing my steps before I found it under a pile of papers. It was a silly moment, and honestly, it’s more annoying than anything. I felt impatient mostly.

* To send an email: I actually had this exact thing happen today! I meant to send an email to a colleague about a meeting agenda. I made a mental note of it while I was doing something else, but then it completely slipped my mind. I just remembered it now, in fact! Luckily, it wasn’t a time-sensitive email, but it does serve as a good reminder of how things can fall right off the radar. I wouldn't say I was worried, but more like slightly annoyed with myself.

* An online password: I definitely had a password retrieval issue in the last 24 hours. I was trying to access an online account, and, for the life of me, I couldn’t remember my password. This is the most frequent occurrence, and I often end up having to click the ‘forgot password’ link which is such a hassle. I felt a little foolish, to be honest. I definitely had the thought, "Come on, Lisa, you should remember this, you've used it before."

* To buy toothpaste: Okay, this is a good one. It wasn't even 24 hours ago. I walked into a store, fully intending to buy toothpaste, among other things, and as I was checking out, I realized I completely forgot to pick it up. It was only the next morning as I was brushing my teeth and realized I was running low on toothpaste, I remembered that I forgot it at the store. And then of course it’s another trip to the store. This is an every-week occurrence.

* Why I walked into a room: This, too! It happens all the time. I’ll walk into my office, and I have to take a beat, and scan the environment to figure out what I came in for. I’ve noticed in my own experiences that sometimes, my brain doesn't feel like it's firing on all cylinders, and that's why I can’t remember. It's like my intention is there, but my brain just didn't track the whole process of arriving in the room. This usually makes me laugh, like I’m having a moment of being very absentminded.

In all of these moments, yes, I did judge myself a bit. I definitely had those internal whispers, like "Ugh, why can't I remember that?" or "Seriously, I should be better at this." I know that these self-critical thoughts are not helpful, and they certainly aren’t uncommon. It’s so easy to fall into that trap of thinking that forgetting is a sign of failure, or maybe aging, or even something worse. It’s really easy to convince ourselves that something is wrong with us.

But here’s the thing I want to emphasize: our brains are not designed to be perfect memory machines, constantly recording every single thing that happens to us. Our brains are designed to forget, sometimes selectively so. We have to understand and embrace our brain’s limitations. I’m here to help people understand that these so-called “imperfections” are just normal factory settings. I want to help you realize that we all experience these memory glitches, and it’s not a sign that something is fundamentally wrong with us.

That’s why I’m here, to help you understand how memory works, to give you tools and strategies to improve your memory, and most importantly, to help you develop a healthier and kinder relationship with your brain. We will learn together why we forget and that most of what we forget is actually a very normal part of being human. I hope you join me!