Sarah and her husband Bob, also a Harvard business grad, live in Welmont, a wealthy suburb of Boston and have three children, Charlie, Lucy and Linus (named after the Charlie Brown characters). Sarah's life is incredibly hectic, a combination of having to juggle 70 to 80 hour work weeks with the responsibility of raising three small children. But all that changes one morning on a rushed drive to work, when Sarah pulls out her cell phone and is involved in a serious single car accident. Sarah suffers trauma to the right side of her head. She awakens eight days later in ICU to discover that her brain does not recognize the left side of her body. She knows she has a left side but doesn't know where it is. Her brain ignores all sensory information that originates on the left side of her body.
At first Sarah believes that she will recover within two weeks and be back into the groove of her hectic life. She can't afford the time to be disabled. She enters therapy, first at the hospital and then at the Baldwin Rehabilitation Center. Instead of a fast recovery and a return to her crazy out of control life, Sarah begins to realize that this process will take more time than she might be willing to admit. "The more therapy I have, the more I realize that this is not a math equation. No one will give me any guarantees. I might get better and I might not. The therapy might help, and it might not. I can work hard as I've always worked at everything I've ever done, and it might not be any more effective than just lying here and praying. I've been doing both."
As she works to rehabilitate herself, Sarah must also come to terms with her past and in particular with her broken relationship with her mother, who emotionally abandoned her when she was young. Sarah gradually learns to redefine her life, the nature of success and her priorities in life. What started out as an obstacle and a disability has become an opportunity for positive change and personal growth.
Discussion
The title, Left Neglected has two meanings; referring both to a neurological disorder arising from the head injury that Sarah experiences and her emotional abandonment by her mother and father during her childhood.
There were many facets of this book that are very enjoyable: the overall writing style of the novel conveyed through the voice of Sarah, which was both engaging and genuine. Genova infused Sarah's voice with humour that lightened what could have been a very oppressive situation and added to the overall tone of the book.
Left Neglected portrayed events in a realistic way, especially in contrasting Sarah's lifestyle before and after her accident, demonstrating how Sarah's disability impacted her life, its effects on her relationship with her husband and children, and how it changed the way she viewed others.
In Left Neglected, a momentary lapse of attention while fishing for a cell phone, changes Sarah's life forever. This common habit, done during driving is both dangerous to the driver and to those around them. The novel highlights how one bad decision can change a life forever.
Left Neglected is more enjoyable and better written than her other novel, Still Alice. This is a great book that will appeal to older teens, book club participants and those who enjoy books about overcoming personal difficulties.
Book Details:
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
New York: Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster, Inc.)
327 pp.
The title, Left Neglected has two meanings; referring both to a neurological disorder arising from the head injury that Sarah experiences and her emotional abandonment by her mother and father during her childhood.
There were many facets of this book that are very enjoyable: the overall writing style of the novel conveyed through the voice of Sarah, which was both engaging and genuine. Genova infused Sarah's voice with humour that lightened what could have been a very oppressive situation and added to the overall tone of the book.
Left Neglected portrayed events in a realistic way, especially in contrasting Sarah's lifestyle before and after her accident, demonstrating how Sarah's disability impacted her life, its effects on her relationship with her husband and children, and how it changed the way she viewed others.
In Left Neglected, a momentary lapse of attention while fishing for a cell phone, changes Sarah's life forever. This common habit, done during driving is both dangerous to the driver and to those around them. The novel highlights how one bad decision can change a life forever.
Left Neglected is more enjoyable and better written than her other novel, Still Alice. This is a great book that will appeal to older teens, book club participants and those who enjoy books about overcoming personal difficulties.
Book Details:
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
New York: Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster, Inc.)
327 pp.
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