Accident changes woman’s life in ‘Left Neglected’

Life can change in the blink of an eye.

Sarah Nickerson is the typical overworked, overstressed, overambitious wife and mom who's intent on trying to do everything. Living the good life in the suburbs of Boston, Sarah and her husband, Bob, are determined to give their young children the best they can. But when Sarah is involved in a horrific car accident, their lives change forever.

Sarah’s accident (she was trying to make a call on her cellphone when she crashed her SUV) leaves her with a rare condition called “Left Neglect,” meaning her brain does not recognize anything on the left side.

The once confident, competent woman is reduced to depending on everyone around her for help walking, eating, dressing, and for Sarah this is a huge awakening. As she struggles with rehabilitation and physical therapy to retrain her brain to think “left” again, Sarah begins to reflect on her former life and how different her new life will be.

Sarah’s accident also brings her long-estranged mother back into her life. As the two women struggle to overcome their sorrowful past, Sarah finds she has gained a new respect for her mother, an emotion that she almost let slip away.

In her second novel, “Left Neglected,” Lisa Genova delivers a story about family relationships and how they are affected when a life-altering occurrence takes place. Genova, who is a neuroscientist, crafts her story to include the scientific aspects of the injury that changes her main character’s life along, but she doesn't ignore the emotions. This is a beautifully written novel that readers will find heart-wrenching as well as heartwarming.