50 in 2012: Book Two

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Every single second of Sarah Nickerson’s day is booked. In fact, every second of Sarah Nickerson’s day is overbooked. The consummate multi-takser, Sarah is a full-time working mother of three children living in an affluent suburban neighborhood, logging in 80 hours a week at work, and shuttling her children to and from soccer practice/day care/piano lessons. She prides herself on her ability to manage multiple conversations at once. Harvard educated, Sarah exemplifies the classic overachiever. Until one day, when her inability to focus on one task at a time tragically changes her life.

A simple task: checking her phone for an e-mail, something she’s done a gazillion times. A simple task: driving herself to work, something she’s done a gazillion times. Checking her phone for an incoming e-mail while driving herself to work results in a tragic accident that leaves her with a traumatic brain injury.

With her brain unable to acknowledge anything “left”, Sarah must re-learn how to live without the existence of “left”. Genova skillfully allows the reader inside of Sarah’s struggles to regain control and acceptance of her new life, her new body, her new reality. A story about the importance of moments, decisions, and the before and after of the decisions we make.

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