I was the moderator for this meeting. I loved this book and knew there would be alot to talk about. The story was about a woman that was career oriented, overachiever, that wanted it all. She wanted to be able to have a family, and work 80 hours a week. Which is impossible in todays world. Something has to give. She was pressured from all sides, and felt guilty she could not give enough to her children. At the same time, she learns that her son, Chalie may have ADHD. One day, Sarah turns her attention to her cell phone, and everything stops.
What we loved about the book was how do you juggle both your work and family? Is it possible to do both? What was brought up, can a mother be a good mother working, and family at the same time. Some said yes, others said quality time is enough.
We all loved the relationship of the mother and the daughter. We all thought she made a more high powered independent woman because of her mother. Her mother was not there for Sara as she was growing up.
We like the rehabilitation phase, as this is when she learned about her self, and how to slow down and pay attention, and what was important to her.
Left Neglect is a true complication from a head trauma or brain injury. Your right side is effected, this makes your left side not aware of anything on your left side. This leads to washing half of your face, Shaving half of your beard, half of your makeup, and see only half of your plate, you did not realize the other half.
We all liked the comparison between Sara's craziness and her son Charlie's ADHD. We liked how they were both hyper- couldn't concentrate, but by the end of the book the both they were able to calm down.
Some members including myself talked about our children with ADHD.
Some women did not care for her Sarah, and very critical, they voiced that Sarah had no business being a mother. You either be a mother or a career woman. You can't do both. This was a hot topic as you can imagine.
What we all liked was almost at the end of the book, how Sara was able to change her life, and take a breather and finally pay attention and take notice of things that really mattered.
We all enjoyed Left Neglected, and we would recommend it to everyone. It makes you take stock, and learn, what to pay attention to. Good discussion for a book club. You can find Lisa's website at http://lisagenova.com