Left Neglected [Paperback]

Are you looking for a book worthy of spending your Christmas gift card on? I've got one for you.

Lisa Genova had a New York Times bestseller with her first novel Still Alice. I know she's got another bestseller on her hands with her latest book Left Neglected - releasing Jan 4/11.

Sarah Nickerson has it all and can do it all. Can't she? High powered job - minimum of 80 hours a week, gorgeous house in a sought after neighbourhood, vacation home in Vermont, 3 children and a devoted husband. The one thing she doesn't seem to have though, is enough time.

She can't make it to every soccer game and is sure that the other parents think that "Mothers who miss the games, like me, are bad mothers." "I love my children and know they're important, but so is my career and the life that career affords us." And her love life...well..."It's our typical morning good-bye kiss. A quick peck. A well-intentioned habit....It's a routine kiss, but I'm glad we do it. It does mean something. It's enough. And it's all we have time for."

You get the picture. It is while trying to multitask - driving while talking on the cell phone - that Sarah's world is turned upside down. She gets into a horrific crash - one that leaves her with a traumatic brain injury. She is unaware of the left side of anything, including herself. And yes, the condition is real.

Unable to work, dependent on others and forced to accept that her life will never be quite the same, Sarah must reexamine her life, her priorities and her relationships - the things in her life that have been 'left neglected.' I found the rekindling of the relationship with her mother especially poignant.

Although the subject matter is serious, Genova handles it with candor and humour. Sarah's voice is so appealing and honest. Genova has a degree in Biopsychology and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard - her descriptions of a patient coping with brain injury are both accurate and informative.

But Left Neglected is simply a really, really good read. Genova's prose flow so easily, the story is addictive and I became invested in Sarah's journey. And maybe take some time to reevaluate your own priorities.

"What else is there? Maybe success can be something else, and maybe there's another way to get there."

Eminently gift card worthy. I think this is going to be one of 2011's best sellers too. Five stars for me.

Sarah Nickerson lives in the affluent Boston suburb of Welmont where she leads an extremely busy and hectic life. Along with her husband Bob and their three children: Lucy, Charlie and baby Linus, they don't have much time for family togetherness. Sarah is Vice-President of Human Resources at a large firm in Boston and Bob's job is facing many lay-offs and he's hoping he's not next. Without both their incomes they wouldn't be able to continue living in the affluent neighbourhood that they do now.

One day while driving to work, in a hurry as usual and about to be late for an important meeting, Sarah begins talking and texting on her phone and takes her eyes off the road for just a second too long. She rolls her SUV and crashes!

Sarah wakes up in the hospital and discovers she's already been there for eight days and the news about her injuries are not good. Sarah as a traumatic brain injury called Left Neglect which is also known as unilateral neglect and hemispatial neglect and is a real neurological syndrome that occurs due to damage to the right hemisphere of the brain. People with Left Neglect aren't blind but their brains ignore information on the left side of the world, often including the left side of their own bodies. Sarah has to learn to re-walk, feed herself, read, and do all the activities of daily living that we take for granted.

Although the story is fictional, the Left Neglect is REAL! There are more people than you and I know that have been afflicted with this type of brain injury. Could you imagine waking up every morning and not being aware that you have a left hand, a left arm, a left leg, that there are words on the left side of the page you can't see or your brain doesn't register? Can you imagine how frustrating that would be?

As the story continues, Sarah spends a few weeks in rehab and is then sent home where her mother comes from Cape Cod to help her with her continuing therapy. Sarah and her mother had not spoken in many, many years after her young brother Nate died when they were young children. Sarah's mother huddled in her bedroom and was never a mother to Sarah after Nate's death and Sarah regrets her showing up now after all these years. However, through rehabilitation for her brain injury there is also another type of rehabilitation taking place between Sarah and her Mom, but they don't quite see it yet.

This was an outstanding novel and once which kept me reading late into the night. I'm so fascinated about this Left Neglect that I'm going to look it up on the internet and learn more about it. This is a story for everyone!

Yet another unbelievable story from Lisa Genova. I devoured Still Alice and was even more taken with Left Neglected.
A wonderful story including family values, re-establishment of priorities and a reminder not to take life for granted.
I recommend Still Alice to everyone, even strangers. I will be adding Left Neglected to that list as well.
A very good read, easy and so addictive!
You won't regret this buy, it is well worth it.
The only thing that disappoints me is that I downloaded it to my e-reader and won't be able to share it with others.