Book Review: Left Neglected

Lisa Genova's novel Left Neglected (also on CD book) tells the story of Sarah Nickerson, a working mother and type-A personality with a maddeningly busy life. She's determined to succeed at her job as a business executive, working 80-hour weeks and competing with coworkers who are mostly divorced men, while doing everything she can to get her three children to school and daycare in the morning and get home in time to tuck them into bed. One morning, trying to get a head start on work by making business calls while driving, she takes her eyes from the road for and instant and has to swerve to avoid a traffic backup, rolling her car at 70 miles per hour.

When Sarah wakes up she discovers that the left side of her world has vanished. The right side of her brain was damaged in the accident, leaving her afflicted with a puzzling disorder known as Left Neglect - she is unaware of the left side of her body, her left visual field is missing, and when told to turn her head to the left, she can't understand what it means. She must begin the agonizing process of rehabilitation, struggling to regain what she lost, anxious to return to work and family and terrified that she will never get her life back.

Genova uses her background in neuroscience to bring her novel to life, examining this fascinating and frustrating disorder and imagining how it might affect a person. She draws us into Sarah's world, overwhelming us with the stress of her schedule and baffling us with her injury, and following Sarah's journey as she gradually heals herself and her life. -Michelle (Sunset)