''Left Neglected'' is a 2011 novel by

Lisa Genova Lisa Genova (born November 22, 1970) is an American neuroscientist and author. She self-published her debut novel, '' Still Alice'' (2007), about a Harvard University professor who suffers early-onset Alzheimer's disease. The book was adapted ...

, a neuroscientist.Lucchetta, Carla.
Having it all - until you can't
" ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''. Friday January 14, 2011. Updated Friday January 21, 2011. Retrieved on February 25, 2015. It is the author's second novel.Left Neglected

Archive
. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', Oct 18, 2010, Vol.257(41), p.24(1). Retrieved on February 25, 2015. Heller McAlpin of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' stated that ''Left Neglected'' "is about tending to neglected areas and healing rifts - familial and emotional as well as neurological."McAlpin, Heller.
'Left Neglected,' by Lisa Genova: review

Archive
. ''

''. Sunday January 2, 2011. Retrieved on February 25, 2015.

Story

The novel focuses on 37-year-old Sarah Nickerson who gets into a car accident and receives left neglect, a condition which results from damage to the right hemisphere of the brain.Treadway, Jessica.
From tragedy comes empathy

Archive
. ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

''. January 8, 2011. Retrieved on February 25, 2015. The first quarter of the novel occurs before the brain damage, while the remainder takes place after the brain damage. Prior to the accident Sarah has a busy work and personal life, and this portion of the novel documents her daily routine. Later, Sarah gets into an accident while looking through the contacts on her cell phone while driving.Atkinson, Nathalie.
No need to be a brain surgeon for Lisa Genova's Left Neglected

Archive
. ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

''. January 27, 2011. Retrieved on February 25, 2015. After the accident she learns to live with her condition. Sarah realizes she had previously neglected aspects of her life, and she tries to pay greater attention to them, hence the double meaning of the book's title, "left neglected".Wilson, Craig.
Genova's 'Left Neglected' boggles the mind, literally

. ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''. January 3, 2011. Retrieved on February 25, 2015. Sarah asks her husband to quit his job and the two move to a weekend house in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

while navigating their new lifestyle and careers. Craig Wilson of the ''

'' characterized the ending as "a bit of a happy ending, or at least a things-are-getting-better ending." The novel criticizes

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

in the suburban lifestyle and the overwork that is often necessary to get the consumerism, since they result in neglect in personal life.

Characters

* Sarah Nickerson - The main character and a resident of Welmont, a fictional

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

suburbLeft Neglected

Archive
. Lisa Genova Official Website. Retrieved on February 25, 2015. * Bob Nickerson - Sarah's husband, Bob works at a startup company * Charlie Nickerson - Sarah's seven-year-old son * Lucy Nickerson - Sarah's five/six-year-old daughter * Linus Nickerson - Sarah's nine-month-old baby * Sarah's mother - Sarah is estranged from her mother prior to the accident, and she believed her mother had neglected her after the death of Sarah's brother Nate. After the accident Sarah's mother comes to take care of her and lives with her.

Reception

Jessica Treadway of ''

'' wrote that ''Left Neglected'' "is a novel worth reading for the way it informs a little-known medical condition, as well as the engaging story of a character who transcends what could have been a tragedy to find a fresh appreciation for life." Treadway argued that some elements of the plot may be, for certain readers, "a bit too neat." Carla Lucchetta of ''

'' concluded that Genova successfully depicted left side neglect. Lucchetta wrote that the story has some clichés and that it lacked the "vital and immediate" feeling in ''

Still Alice ''Still Alice'' is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland and based on the 2007 novel by Lisa Genova. It stars Julianne Moore as Alice Howland, a linguistics professor diagnosed with famili ...

''. Heller McAlpin wrote that the story is "engaging, sympathetic - if not particularly subtle". ''

'''s Craig Wilson argued that "This is a well-told tale from a keen medical mind." ''

'' stated that compared to ''Still Alice'', ''Left Neglected'' is more accessible.

References

External links

*
Left Neglected
' - Lisa Genova Official Website {{Lisa Genova 2011 American novels Novels by Lisa Genova Novels set in Boston Gallery Books books

Story

Characters

Reception

References

Further reading

External links