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Book Summary and Reviews of Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

Left Neglected

A Novel

by Lisa Genova

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  • Jan 2011, 336 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Sarah Nickerson is like any other career-driven supermom in Welmont, the affluent Boston suburb where she leads a hectic but charmed life with her husband Bob, faithful nanny, and three children - Lucy, Charlie, and nine-month-old Linus. 

Between recruiting the best and brightest minds as the vice president of human resources at Berkley Consulting; shuttling the kids to soccer, day care, and piano lessons; convincing her son's teacher that he may not, in fact, have ADD; and making it home in time for dinner, it’s a wonder this over-scheduled, over-achieving Harvard graduate has time to breathe.

 A self-confessed balloon about to burst, Sarah miraculously manages every minute of her life like an air traffic controller. Until one fateful day, while driving 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 jam-packed life come to a screeching halt. 

A traumatic brain injury completely erases the left side of her world, and for once, Sarah relinquishes control to those around her, including her formerly absent mother. Without the ability to even floss her own teeth, she struggles to find answers about her past and her uncertain future.

Now, as she wills herself to regain her independence and heal, Sarah must learn that her real destiny - her new, true life - may in fact lie far from the world of conference calls and spreadsheets. And that a happiness and peace greater than all the success in the world is close within reach, if only she slows down long enough to notice.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Neuroscientist Genova once again personalizes an actual disabling brain condition to create irresistibly readable and moving fiction." - Booklist

"More accessible than her somber first book, which dealt with early-onset Alzheimer's, the central condition causes readers to wonder what brain disease she will think of next." - Publishers Weekly

"This is a positive novel about hope and strength that should find a market with those who appreciate contemporary women's fiction and readers who either are coping with brain disorders or have family members with these conditions." - Library Journal

This information about Left Neglected was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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brnoze

This is REAL!
I had listened to the author, Lisa Genova, being interviewed about Left Neglected. It sounded interesting, I had read her earlier book "Still Alice" and loved it, but I wasn't pushed to run out and buy it. Well little did I know how life would twist and turn so soon. My mother-in-law had a stroke and is experiencing Left Neglect. It is so real, and so fascinating. I recommend this book, not just because it is a great story (it is fiction) but because it rings true. This is our next book club's read by my recommendation and I know the members in my group are going to love it.

avid

Every bit as good as "Still Alice"
I read this book in two sittings. As in "Still Alice", the author immediately draws you in by relating familiar situations and feelings. Then when a traumatic injury leaves Sarah brain-damaged, Genova continues to relate Sarah's tale in a way in which we can all imagine, enduring her difficult circumstances. Lisa Genova is a very educated and compassionate author whose ability to convey the horrors of brain injury are valuable and compelling. This book is not depressing and scary, but hopeful, resilient, and realistic. Educate yourself while enjoying a great read.

mainlinebooker

Good but not great..
I love books when I can learn something new from them. Her easy style allows one to read this in a breezy fashion, while still learning a great deal about a person who undergoes a "left neglect" brain injury and how it affects one's daily life.

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Author Information

Lisa Genova Author Biography

Lisa Genova graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. Acclaimed as the Oliver Sacks of fiction and the Michael Crichton of brain science, she is the author of the New York Times bestselling novels Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, and Inside the O'Briens.

Still Alice spent 59 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It won the 2008 Bronte Prize and the 2011 Bexley Book of the Year, and it was nominated for the 2010 Indies Choice Debut Book of the Year by the American Booksellers Association. It was the #6 Top Book Group Favorite of 2009 by Reading Group Choices, a 2009 Barnes & Noble Discover Pick, a 2009 Indie Next pick, a 2009 Borders Book Club Pick, and a 2009 ...

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