Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

Left Neglected was the April Book Club Selection for the FLICKS Book and Movie Club. We just had our meeting this past Thursday and had a fun discussion of the book.  Although the daughter of the host for this month pointed out that we really should be called the eating, drinking, and talking club . . . which is true!

Sarah Nickerson is a mother and a successful business woman as a Vice President of Human Resources at a major company.  Her husband Bob is just as driven at work as Sarah is and together they try to lead the most successful business lives they can while also raising three young children, Charlie, Lucy, and baby Linus.  One day while driving to work on a rainy day, Sarah was paying attention to her phone rather than her driving and was involved in a terrible car accident.  The accident caused her to have a brain injury that basically made her believe that the left side of her body didn’t exist.  

This throws Sarah and Bob’s lives into a tailspin.  Sarah’s estranged mother comes to help out with everything and the two are able to finally talk about the past.  Charlie is diagnosed with ADD and together with Sarah’s diagnosis they work on trying to take the best path forward.  Life does not always turn out the way you want it to, how do you deal with changes in your life’s plan?

I thought this was a great follow-up read to our club’s having read Me Before You by JoJo Moyes a few months ago.  I thought this was a great example of another way that you can move forward after a tragedy.  It was an interesting book, although depressing.  It was worth it for the good ending.  My favorite quote from the book was the following:

 “The civil engineers who planned and designed these roads probably never conceived of this many commuters.”

I love finding quotes about civil or environmental engineers in literature!

Book Source:  Kewaunee Public Library. Thank-you!