Left Neglected

by Lisa Genova

published by Gallery Books

2011

I borrowed a copy of this book from my local library.

Summary

Sarah Nickerson is like any other career-driven supermom in Welmont, the affluent Boston suburb where she leads a hectic but charmed life with her husband Bob, faithful nanny, and three children—Lucy, Charlie, and nine-month-old Linus. Between recruiting the best and brightest minds as the vice president of human resources at Berkley Consulting; shuttling the kids to soccer, day care, and piano lessons; convincing her son’s teacher that he may not, in fact, have ADD; and making it home in time for dinner, it’s a wonder this over-scheduled, over-achieving Harvard graduate has time to breathe.

A self-confessed balloon about to burst, Sarah miraculously manages every minute of her life like an air traffic controller. Until one fateful day, while driving to work and trying to make a phone call, she looks away from the road for one second too long. In the blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her jam-packed life come to a screeching halt.   

A traumatic brain injury completely erases the left side of her world, and for once, Sarah relinquishes control to those around her, including her formerly absent mother. Without the ability to even floss her own teeth, she struggles to find answers about her past and her uncertain future. 

Now, as she wills herself to regain her independence and heal, Sarah must learn that her real destiny—her new, true life—may in fact lie far from the world of conference calls and spreadsheets. And that a happiness and peace greater than all the success in the world is close within reach, if only she slows down long enough to notice. 

My Review

I honestly liked this book, even though I wasn’t into it at first.  And honestly, the timing was a little creepy.  I finished this book the day after a woman in North Carolina died when her car veered into oncoming traffic. If you haven’t heard about this yet, here is a link.  She had just seconds earlier posted on Facebook that the lyrics to the song Happy made her happy.  In this book, Sarah is so intent on getting as much work done as she can that she does almost the same- looks down at her phone while driving on the highway and veers into oncoming traffic.  While she was working and not posting on FB, both fiction and reality scare the hell out of me.  I try my best to not do this ever while behind the wheel, but it has become so prevalent in our society.  My son is taking Drivers Ed now, and will be able to drive with a permit when he turns 16 in August.  I would take diapers and spit up any day over this new reality of mine.

Back to the book- I really did enjoy it.  Lisa Genova brings us an interesting character in Sarah Nickerson.  Watching her struggle not only with this bizarre condition. but also with her changing relationship with all f her family kept me captivated in an unexpected way.  I would definitely recommend this book!