Review - LEFT neglected by Lisa Genova

Here’s the summary from the publisher:


In an instant, life can change forever.


Sarah Nickerson is a high-powered working mom with too much on her plate and too little time. One day, racing 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 over-scheduled life come to a screeching halt. A traumatic brain injury completely erases the left side of her world. As she struggles to recover, she discovers she must embrace a simpler life, and in so doing begins to heal the things she’s left neglected in herself, her family, and the world around her.


My Review - 4 1/2 Great to the last drop

Sarah is my favourite character this year so far.  She is strong, has the perfect charmed balanced life as a working mom, she has a great sense of humour and is passionate.  All the characteristics that I love in a best friend, I wanted to be her best friend in this book. Such an emotional crisis but instead of it pulling at me emotionally and having the Kleenex I was smiling, Sarah's sarcasm was delightful.

The first half of the book was about Sarah's charmed life.  She is VP of Human Resources for a consultancy firm, a very high powered job which she loves, has 3 young children, the youngest only 9 months, she is a wife and this is all wrapped up into a very structured 'perfect' life.  Sarah loves the best of the best, my kind of girl.  The cutest thing throughout the book, Sarah and her husband play scissors, rock, paper for simple decisions, very cute indeed.

I like how the author included Sarah's dreams, making you consider if this is a way of trying to give Sarah a message to slow down.  All it took was searching in her purse for her cellphone and ACCIDENT that changed her life.  We must stop talking, texting, messenging while driving.  Sarah is lucky to not have killed anyone or herself but she does end up with Left Neglect, also knows as unilateral neglect and hemispatial neglect.  Patients with Left Neglect are not blind, but rather their brains ignore information on the left side of the world, often including the left side of their own bodies. (Taken from authors note)

Lisa G continues to make the reader try to understand what Sarah is going through and I love how Sarah's inner self gives her encouragement, tells her off etc.  Here is an example.  Hey there, Sarah, you think you're seeing your whole face, but you're actually only paying attention to the right side..  There's another half there.  It's called the left.  Honest to God.  There are many times in the book the author makes you reflect on your own life, I dare you to try and read this and not consider making changes.

The second half of the book is Sarah's recovery, decisions about going back to work and her mom is there to assist her with everything.  This is a journey all on its own with some family history of hurt.

This book was fascinating to me and I felt good at the end.  Lisa Genova has a PhD in neuroscience and you can tell she puts real research and passionate time into her writing to educated the reader while we are enjoying her novel. 

Still Alice is still an all time favourite but I recommend both.  Still Alice and LEFT neglected have touched me in ways that I am sure will always stay with me.  I read Still Alice before blogging so do not have a review but it definitely gets a 5+ Tea Time Perfection