Left Neglected

Author Lisa Genova here tries to do for a brain injury known commonly as "left neglected" what she did for dementia in her earlier "Still Alice." Genova does a tremendous job of describing what it feels like to be unable to perceive anything on the left side of one's body, and the shattering impact such an injury has on every aspect of one's life. However, she misses the mark on the story itself. (It didn't help that I kept flashing back to the Harrison Ford movie "Regarding Henry.") The protagonist, Sarah, is a successful woman narrowly focused on her career when tragedy strikes; while her journey makes for a poignant differentiation between "before the injury" and "after the injury," and an opportunity to contemplate "what's really show more important in life," it's a journey we've taken many times before (including in "Still Alice"). Other than Sarah, the characters are sketchily drawn--the husband, in particular, remains a blank--and resolutions both of Sarah's relationship with her mother and of the book overall are far too neat. show less

Ever since I read Lisa Genova's saga of an Alzheimer's victim, "Still Alice", I've been anxious to get to this one. Although written as fiction, the story of this more common than we realize neurological condition known as "Left Neglect" is compelling, frightening, encouraging, discouraging, depressing, and uplifting all at once.

The main character, Sara Nickerson, is portrayed as an over-achieving, multi-tasking, high powered executive, mother of three who thinks she can have it all--and almost does, until a momentary lapse of judgement (trying to dial a cell-phone while barreling along a crowded turnpike at 70mph) results in a horrific accident, and a traumatic brain injury. When she awakes in the hospital, she is confronted with the show more fact that the entire left side of her experience is missing. She can't see on her left, she can't use her left arm or leg, she can't hear on her left--in essence, she is missing half her reality. She can't dress, bath or toilet herself, she can't read, she can't use a computer, she can't walk, she can't feed herself, and the outlook is less than optimistic for a full recovery.

For about 60% of this book, I wanted to smack this woman. She is obnoxious, arrogant, demanding, selfish, and totally unlikable. But..............she is suffering an incredible challenge, and an almost impossible obstacle course to recover her previous life, so I continued reading, praying for a change of heart. On top of the physical issues she had to deal with, she is confronted with having her mother moving in to her household to help out with day to day chores, with her daughter's physical needs (dressing, bathing, moving etc) and with childcare - particularly for the toddler. Apparently, Sara has not been on speaking terms with her mother for most of her adult life, and the psychic energy she must expend on re-building (or tearing down) that relationship is an additional trauma to her system. On top of everything, the family has to face a precipitous drop in its very affluent life-style if Sara is unable to return to work.

Genova has given us a powerful portrayal of the physical, mental, psychological and spiritual challenges of this type of injury --not just to the victim, but to the family and friends who also are impacted by its devastation. In the end, it is a story of the power of the human spirit to rise above adversity and get on with life. It is a story that will stick with the reader for years. show less

(15) This is a quickly read novel by the author of 'Still Alice,' which was a gripping read narrated by a neuroscientist who realizes she has early onset Alzheimer's Disease. This puts a similar face on the neurological condition of left-sided neglect which is usually a post-stroke phenomenon that most of us doctors only learn about n medical school but don't really ever see. Genova is a neuroscientist, who also just happens to be a decent writer in terms of plot, dramatic tension, pacing. This book clipped right along and I could certainly relate to Sarah Nickerson, our protagonist, a 30-something working mother in corporate American, living in yuppie vile, with two mortgages, two kids, student loans, and a luxury vehicle -- a lot of show more balls in the air and trying to project a perfect life. It all comes crashing down on her after a car accident leaves her with this bizarre neurological handicap.

In many ways, this story is much more 'Lifetime' movie of the week than 'Still Alice." It had that happily ever after kind of vibe that detracted just a bit where as her first novel was a bit more gritty, sad. But nevertheless , I thought it was entertaining, succinct, funny, poignant and an all around entertaining read. Excellent airplane, beach reading material. I hate to say it, but one can almost multi-task while reading it -- despite the disastrous consequences of such behavior pointed out in the novel.

I will read more of her novels. I like the New England settings, The demographics of her protagonists speak to me. Not great literature to be sure, but satisfying and interesting. show less

Barnes and Noble are return Nazis. When I tried to return a Christmas gift for store credit (no receipt - it was a gift), the clerk was quite nasty about it. So I conceived an evil scheme: I would buy a book I was only mildly interested in (Lisa Genova's Left Neglected), read it, and then return it. Take that, B & N!

A problem arose.

Lisa Genova's book is...really good. Fascinating, actually. Sarah, the hard-driving, consulting-firm executive and mother of three, wins the daily gamble with her husband and gets to drive to work without dropping the kids at daycare. Her mind spinning with her endless to-do list, she allows her attention to stray for a vital instant, and suffers a horrific accident, including a traumatic brain injury. When show more she awakens, she finds she has lost all awareness of anything on her left - Left Neglect.

This could have been a recipe for a somber, bitter novel, or perhaps an unrealistically inspirational one, but it is neither. Sarah, her husband Bob, Sarah's formerly neglectful, now eager-to-make-amends mother, are all fully-formed characters who are also immensely likable. (Thank you for that, Lisa Genova! I detest spending time with ugly people, even if they are well-drawn.) The decidedly peculiar problems faced by those suffering from this unusual condition are - well, they were just so interesting. At one point, Sarah's husband is urging her to "look left" and she asks him to describe the room to her, which he does. Then she asks him, "Okay, now what if I told you that everything your see is only half of everything that's really here? What if I told you to turn your head and look at the other half? Where would you look?"

Ouch. But also, really well done, Lisa Genova! I really GOT that. Left Neglected is fast-moving, intellectually engaging, emotionally powerful, and really got me thinking about my own tendency to think there is only "one best way" to navigate the world. So I guess I'll have to revenge myself on B & N some other way. show less

Couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night so I got up and finished reading Left Neglected by Lisa Genova. Sarah Nickerson had a high level corporate job, putting in 80 hour days and her husband was super busy in his job too. They are both very intelligent and Harvard educated. She depended on multitasking to survive her busy schedule. The couple's together time was about nil due to her career and her three young children. She wanted so badly to be with them more and felt guilty about it

She had a car accident, hydroplaned on the highway and ended up with right part of her brain missing. That is called Left Neglect. There was a secondary story about her relationship with her mother who she felt had abandoned her when her baby brother show more died. Her mother stayed alone in her room for years while Sarah longed for her mother's company.

Left Neglect is a syndrome that even though your eyesight is still there your brain does not register that you are seeing the left side of the room, page, etc. The author said that President Woodrow Wilson had that when he had his stroke. Sarah went through the shock of not seeing anything on the left, of not knowing where her left arm or left was, unable to button her blouses, unable to see her children when they were on the left side of the room. What is that like? Lisa Genova studied this condition and then interviewed people with this condition before writing this story. That is why what Sarah feels, says and does seems so real.

I highly recommend Left Neglect to everyone interested in brain injuries and brain syndromes and families. show less

I was very impressed with Genova's debut novel Still Alice, a story focused on the main character's decent into Alzheimer's, and have been waiting impatiently for her second book to come out. Left Neglected was well worth the wait.

Sarah Nickerson is a thirty-something high powered career woman, mother of three and wife to an equally upwardly mobile husband. 80-hour work weeks and constant multitasking are what Sarah's life is all about - everything driven by a mental scorecard, tracking and capitalizing on every minute as if her life, and her family's lives, are managed by an air traffic controller. I am not an obsessive A-type personality so Sarah's idea of life isn't one I share with her. One fateful day, Sarah's high powered, and show more dare I say frantic life, takes a drastic turn when she attempts to make a phone call while driving to work and crashes her vehicle in the process. due to the crash, she suffers a traumatic brain injury to the right hemisphere of the brain. The outcome of this brain injury is a neurological syndrome known as Left Neglect, with Sarah's brain ignoring information on the left side of the world, including the left side of her own body.

This is where the story shifts from good fiction to fascinating fiction for me. Genova, a PhD in neuroscience, has an amazing skill at conveying neurological disabilities/dysfunctions from a patient's point of view while still presenting an interesting story that is easy for the reader to connect with. As a left handed individual with a fascination with how the human brain is 'wired', this story was a great page-turner for me. Imagine having to force yourself, though conscious effort, to look left, because as far as your brain is concerned, there is no left. Left hand, what left hand? Same goes for the your left leg. Oh, and for the food lovers out there, you think you have eaten everything on your dinner plate only to have the plate turned clockwise 180 degrees and, low and behold, the other half of your dinner magically appears!

Candid, informative and at times humorous, Sarah's experiences after this life altering experience with all its ups and downs has left me appreciating how difficult living with Left Neglect can be and has left me wanting to learn more about this fascinating neurological syndrome.

A fascinating and insightful story about a neurological syndrome that is for the most part is still not well understood by the scientific community and about making important, life altering choices and connections. Highly recommended! show less

I really did enjoy this book about Left Neglect, which is a really weird condition where people who have had a stroke or an accident where the head is hurt, switch off the Left side of everything! A really hard concept to get your head round! They are not blind and can be in good health but don't see the left side of anything, their own bodies, a room, just about everything.
This is the story of Sarah Nickerson a high flying executive who doesn't have enough hours in the day, 3 children (one of which has ADHD) a husband and 2 motgages. She has a dreadful accident which leaves her with Left Negelct and she has to rebuild her life.
It is a really good read, written with warmth and humour, I am still not sure I have my head round the show more condition, but is not so terribly rare! show less