LEFT Neglected by Lisa Genova

My life has been affected by TBI.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Due to a car accident in July 2010, my best friend suffers from TBI. But the crazy thing with TBI is that it's completely unpredictable, and every person's case is completely unique. People heal at different times, to different levels.

LEFT Neglected deals with a TBI injury that causes Sarah, the main character, to lose recognition of the left side of everything. Her brain doesn't recognize it. It doesn't exist. Not the left of her body, or the left of a room, or the left side of a page that she is reading. At one point she explains it like this - what would you do if someone asked you to look at the middle of your back? You can't do it - it's not a place you can look. You know it exists, but it's not an option.

An easy read, Genova takes us through the emotion and physical difficulties behind a woman struggling to recover from TBI. We see her difficulties as a daughter, wife, and mother.

At times, it is heartbreaking. The first time she tries to read her daughter a book, something they shared before the accident, and she realizes that she can't. She only sees half the page.

And yet the author also brings a humorous rhythm to the book, in a wonderful tone, which draws you in even more, not wanting to put the book down.

Having spent the last four years with my friend as she continues to recover, and accept her new normal, this book was beautifully written. It gives an incredible insight into TBI and the challenges so many people face. The humility needed to accept help, and to accept that you are different than before. It is so well written, that I assumed all along it was a memoir - written by a survivor. I was shocked to find it fiction, written based on reasearch.

This is an excellent read. Not just for people personally affected by TBI, but for anyone who has ever had to overcome change, hardship, etc. Five stars.