Left Neglected

Jogie gets so jealous that I can read books because I want to rather than because my teachers are forcing me to. And that I have time to do this rather than worrying about how I will find time to study for the next ridiculously ridiculous test. The latest book I have read is Left Neglected by Lisa Genova.

This book details the experience of Sarah who suffers a traumatic brain injury which results in Left Neglect. In Sarah’s life she has every day overscheduled beyond what can reasonably be done by one person. She is very successful in her career and her company relies heavily on her. She has a family of three kids who need and crave her attention. She also has a husband with whom she has limited time to strengthen that relationship. If that wasn’t enough she has two mortgages and a boatload of debt from school. In her mind her stamp of success is in her busy lifestyle and her family’s high standard of living.

That changes when she tries to multitask while driving. Following her car accident her brain stops paying attention to anything on the left side. She is diagnosed with Left Neglect. She can not see someone standing on the left side of the room. She can not see the spoon on the left side of her bowl. Perhaps most devastating to her is that she can not read words on the left side of a page or sometimes even the left side of a word. Due to her traumatic brain injury she has to relearn simple tasks like walking and reading.

Sarah struggles with her new status as a disabled person. I work at a disability law firm helping people who become disabled get on Social Security Disability to help with medical coverage and living expenses. Because of my daily experiences at work I had in the back of my head the question of whether she would qualify for disability benefits. Sarah because of her young age, high education, and previous work as a skilled laborer had attributes that gave her a good chance of being able to return to the workforce.

Sarah through her rehabilitation had to define success differently. Success was no longer her busy lifestyle and her high standard of living. Success became finding the brownie on the left side of the plate, reading the entire newspaper with the exceptions of the boring parts. Success became getting her own pop from the fridge.

Sarah also had to realign her life values through her rehabilitation. Before her car accident Sarah valued her career and show of prosperity. Following her car accident she lost grasp on these values and was no longer able to define herself positively in these fields. Through her Left Neglect relationships especially with her family became what she valued the most. She got to know her kids and her mom in a way that she never had had time to do before.

Reading this book had me thinking most about whether I am living the life that I want to live. Do I feel successful in what I am spending my days doing? Am I spending my time on things or with the people that I value the most? Do I really need to rush through so much of my daily tasks? Can I save something for tomorrow?