Review & Giveaway: Left Neglected by Lisa Genova (Blog Tour)

Title: Left Neglected
Author: Lisa Genova
Available: Now
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction












Synopsis via Goodreads:


Sarah Nickerson is like any other career-driven supermom in Welmont, the affluent Boston suburb where she leads a hectic but charmed life with her husband Bob, faithful nanny, and three children—Lucy, Charlie, and nine-month-old Linus. 

Between recruiting the best and brightest minds as the vice president of human resources at Berkley Consulting; shuttling the kids to soccer, day care, and piano lessons; convincing her son's teacher that he may not, in fact, have ADD; and making it home in time for dinner, it's a wonder this over-scheduled, over-achieving Harvard graduate has time to breathe.

A self-confessed balloon about to burst, Sarah miraculously manages every minute of her life like an air traffic controller. Until one fateful day, while driving to work and trying to make a phone call, she looks away from the road for one second too long. In the blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her jam-packed life come to a screeching halt. 

A traumatic brain injury completely erases the left side of her world, and for once, Sarah relinquishes control to those around her, including her formerly absent mother. Without the ability to even floss her own teeth, she struggles to find answers about her past and her uncertain future. 

Now, as she wills herself to regain her independence and heal, Sarah must learn that her real destiny—her new, true life—may in fact lie far from the world of conference calls and spreadsheets. And that a happiness and peace greater than all the success in the world is close within reach, if only she slows down long enough to notice.


My thoughts:


Having read and loved Lisa Genova’s debut novel, Still Alice, I jumped at the chance to read her newest release now available in paperback! While I don’t feel I connected with Left Neglected quite the way I did with Still Alice, I still found Sarah’s story engrossing and informative. 


Sarah goes from an overachieving mother of three, to a woman oblivious to all things on the left because of her choice to use a cell phone while driving. Now she is facing an unknown future. She could overcome the little known about disorder, Left Neglect, or spend the rest of her life having to remind herself to “scan left” and to take in the entire room. 


I enjoyed Sarah’s voice. She was a very sarcastic main character and managed to make light of many situations that would have easily reduced me to tears. She also has three children who just warmed my heart. There is a side story happening involving her oldest son, Charlie, and a possible case of ADD that leads to some amazing scenes between him and Sarah. There is also husband Bob who I really liked. I felt his emotions and reactions to the changes in their lives, as well as the reactions of their children, were very believable. I liked that they reacted exactly how I expect your average family would when faced with a similar crisis.


After Sarah's accident her mother becomes a part of her life again. Sarah is bitter and angry over events in their past that seemed to have led to almost an estrangement between the two. The interaction between Sarah and her mother causes this book to become so much more than a story of simply healing physically. There are emotional scars here like you wouldn’t believe! It gives the plot quite a bit of depth and prevents it from becoming weighed down by the medical side of things.


Having read so many mixed reviews of, Left Neglected, I was worried going in. Thankfully this was unfounded because I truly enjoyed the time I spent reading. While it didn’t pack the emotional punch of Still Alice, it was still an intense and heart wrenching (sometimes heartwarming) story of survival and adapting to a new way of living. 


I would definitely recommend Left Neglected especially if the topic of traumatic brain injuries touches you on a personal level, or if you’re just fascinated by the workings of the human mind. Lisa Genova has a real gift for story telling, and I look forward to more novels from her in the future.

My Rating:

Lisa Genova on the web:

Website | Twitter

Giveaway Details:

I have one copy of Left Neglected up for grabs courtesy of Gallery Books!

Open to residents of the U.S

Leave a comment with a way to contact you to enter (email/Twitter/etc)

Ends August 5th

Source: Provided by publisher in exchange for my review

Guest Post: Molly Harper visits Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge

When I was little and came running into the house, sweaty and caked in dirt, my mom would cry, “What the- have you been rolling around with wolves?”

Well, here I sit, sweaty, caked in various layers of dried mud.  And I have indeed been playing with wolves.  While promoting the release of my Naked Werewolf romance series, I visited the Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge in Nicholasville, KY.  Wolf Run, a state- and USDA-licensed non-profit educational facility, provides a safe, loving and permanent sanctuary for 23 adult wolves and wolf-dog hybrids. The refuge is also home to two full-grown lions, deer, goats, sheep, monkeys, and other exotic wildlife.  And Rowdy, the most obese raccoon I have ever seen. 

Most of the animals are former pets that were either confiscated by or surrendered by their owners.  Because it turns out, wolf hybrids do not make great house pets.

As Savannah Massey, director of animal care and education at Wolf Run told me, “These animals are gorgeous, appealing and unique. But they’re also aggressive, destructive and territorial.  This is not an animal you want in your home.  Wolf genetics do not go away.  And it’s not just that they could tear up your furniture or hurt one of your other pets- you are physically in danger when you’re around them.”

Just what you want to hear when you’re sitting right next to one, and he’s been licking your face.

Honestly, Boone, a 10-year-old grey male, could not have been nicer during my visit and our subsequent photo shoot.  He was a dignified statesman compared to raucous Razz, a three-year-old tan specimen who seemed to think my make-up was bacon-flavored. (Note to Sephora, wolf-oriented face powder may be a niche market you haven’t considered yet.)

I learned a lot during my visit to Wolf Run.  I was happy to find there are some definite similarities between actual wolves and the characters in HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED WEREWOLF and THE ART OF SEDUCING A NAKED WEREWOLF.

For instance, a wolf will pee on whatever it wants, whenever it wants, to make sure you know that thing belongs to them.   It is now your tree, Boone, we understand.  Thank you for not choosing my shoes.

Wolves have to date.  There are five packs at Wolf Run, each with three to five pack members.  New wolves are matched to potential packs based on temperament when they arrive at Wolf Run.  If the initial matches don’t work, they are moved to different packs until they find a good fit. Some wolves, like Boone, don’t fit well with any group and end up being loners. (Which, I think, makes him a bit like Cooper.) 

Wolves struggle over the Alpha position.  Large males jockey for the position and it can lead to inter-pack tension.   Unlike Boone, who was an Alpha contender, Razz, just seemed to want to play, which made me think of Samson.  I did not see a real-life counterpart for Maggie, which was probably a good thing given her penchant for biting people on the butt.

Mary Kindred, CEO of Wolf Run, calls the animals her babies.  When she walks around the yard, any effort to distract the wolves is futile, because a) she is mom and b) she has Pupperoni in her pocket. Kindred noted that the sanctuary receives no outside funding, and all expenses, such sturdy fencing, food, veterinary care, and upkeep of the grounds, are paid through donations.  The facility welcomes volunteers.   And despite the love and effort Mary and her staff devote to the sanctuary, both she and Savannah look forward to the day they’re no longer needed.

“These animals shouldn’t be here,” Savannah said.  “The lions should be in Africa. The wolves should be in the wild.  Our goal is to rescue animals and educate the public, until a facility like this is no longer needed.”  

To learn more about Wolf Run, go to http://www.wolfrun.org/index.html or contact Mary at ceoatwrwrhope@aol.com.

Click here to check out the trailer for Molly’s Naked Werewolf series: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyHG5546Xa4

 Wolf photo credit: Memories by Chris/Chris Meyer/Georgetown, KY http://web.me.com/memoriesbychris

HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED WEREWOLF is on sale now!

THE ART OF SEDUCING A NAKED WEREWOLF goes on sale 3/29!

Source: Gallery Books Publicity