Left Neglected - Book Review

Goodreads

LEFT Neglected is about do it all woman named Sarah. She has a high powered job, 3 kids, a full schedule, and no time to even think about slowing down. One day on her way to work she does something she does everyday. She takes out her cell phone, takes her eyes off the road for too long, and her life finally slows down.

Sarah has a traumatic brain injury called left neglect. Nothing on the left exists to her. Not the left side of her body. Not the left side of a room. Not even the left side of her dinner plate. Sarah should feel lucky but she doesn't. How is she supposed to get back to doing it all if she cant even dress herself? 

In the struggle of recovering Sarah is also dealing with the possibility that her son has ADHD and her very absent mother has made a reappearance in her life.

I really liked this book. I read Lisa Genova's book Ask Alice a few years ago. I was at the library and stumbled upon Left Neglected and snatched it up as soon as I recognized the author's name. Ask Alice was about a woman who has early-onset Alzheimer's. Lisa did such an amazing job with that book I just knew I wouldn't be let down with Left Neglected.  Lisa seems to have a real skill in writing about problems with the brain. She writes in a way that doesn't focus just on the issue but how it affects the person with it. I didn't even know left neglect was something that could really happen. Early in the story Sarah's husband becomes frustrated with her. He can't understand how she just can't SEE the left. Sarah's husband is urging her to just "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 you 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?"

In Left Neglected I immediately felt connected to Sarah. I felt all of her frustrations. I cried when things got hard and cheered when she has success. The story actually has a bit of humor in it. It has a quick pace and no dull boring moments. I found myself laughing at times.  I highly recommend reading this book.