LEFT Neglected

This post's title could cover a slew of current events --- Harold Camping's non-rapture event, President Obama's recent statement on Israel's borders, and even the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.


But it actually refers to a book title by Lisa Genova, the subject matter of a working mom left with no sense or recognition of the left side of her body after a car accident leaves her with this brain condition known as, you guessed it, "left neglect." After closing the book (hope I'm always able to say that), I was left (okay, that will probably be the last "left" ) with stronger than ever confirmation that if you can read --- and comprehend --- you can do just about anything, maybe not brain surgery, but certainly train your brain to think, re-think or think differently about anything, maybe everything.


So imagine a scenario that has you waking up one day with this condition and having to continually remind your brain that even though you can hear your husband's voice, but can't see him, it doesn't mean he's in the other room, it means he's on the left side of your body.  And what does "continually remind your brain" involve? For the protagonist, countless hours of physical therapy that bring her to a place in her life that she's able to handle most of her daily routine pre-accident, but differently. In her first session, she's asked to imagine her watch and wedding ring on her left hand; I can't do justice to the author's conveyance of the physical and emotional wreckage this first session wrings from the protagonist; just read the book! 


The book had a bit more personal impact as I have 100% hearing loss in my left ear and so throughout my reading it, I was continually appraising my mindfulness and attention to matters on the "left" side of my life.  At the end of it all, I was "left" with a greater appreciation of both the magnificence and mystery of the brain and mind.