Left Neglected – A Book Review
There was a time in my life when I obsessively consumed books – usually it was in the summer – I’d scan pages upon pages of books on my hour long commute on the subway to whatever my summer job was that year. That was long before kids. Long before we moved so far out in suburbia that it no longer became feasible for me to take public transportation. I miss that reading time. Parenthood has also made it harder to find the time – little people would grab my book, lose my page and often times commit the biggest offense of all.. MISPLACE MY BOOK! I miss the luxury of turning the crisp pages of a book, the smell of a new book waiting for me to immerse myself into the story and the lives of the characters.
Three weeks ago, thanks to my wonderful blog sponsors Vistaprint, Skincare Botanica, and Appleseed Maternity, I found myself in the financial position to be able to buy myself an indulgent gift, a gift solely for myself: a new iPad 2! (She needs a nickname… Suggestions?). Shortly after making my purchase I discovered the iBooks, Kindle and Kobo apps and therefore resurrecting my love of reading.
I turned to my good friend Twitter for book suggestions and @flowercitymom jumped to the rescue & suggested “Left Neglected” by Lisa Genova. Trusting her judgement, I downloaded it right away.
I instantly was able to relate to the chief character, Sarah, in Left Neglected. She’s a busy mom of three children who are almost exactly the same age as mine (9 mos, 6 and 8). She’s a career-minded mom, trying to find work/life balance between school and daycare drop-offs, a long commute to work and a demanding job until one day she’s involved in a car accident that leaves her a traumatic brain injury. The book shares her emotional and physical struggles in the aftermath of the accident. She’s unable to care for herself or her children but slowly recovers and learns that the little things in life are what matters most.
As a working mom myself (or at least I will be in 3 mos from now when my maternity leave is over), I could relate to her struggles. How do I balance everything *I* want to do? Is what *I* want to do as important or more important than the time with my children? I greatly enjoyed the book because it made me see MY OWN life differently. I love when a book can do that!
DISCLAIMER: I chose and purchased this book on my own and was not asked by anyone to write a review. These are my own thoughts and feelings about this book.