Handle with Care (Jodi Picoult)

I recently finished reading Jodi Picoult's novel "Handle with Care."  This novel was about a young girl, Willow, who was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), a rare genetic bone disorder that results in many bone breaks and fractures.  This disorder affects an individual for their entire lives and there is currently no cure.

Willow, though she is a very smart young girl, will always be small, will always have an unusually high risk of breaking bones, and will always require care or help from someone else.  Since Willow's mother, Charlotte, has been unable to work since Willow was born, her family is having a hard time covering the living costs for Willow, who constantly requires hospitalization, wheelchairs, and accessible vehicles.  After an incident while on vacation, a lawyer brings up the fact that, perhaps, Charlotte's doctor, Piper, should have been able to see early detection signs of OI in the fetus.  This early detection could have led to the termination of the pregnancy before any of these problems or costs became a problem for the family.  The book discusses the ups and downs of what occurs during this lawsuit.
 

When I was reading this book during my lunch break one day, another teacher walked in and asked what I was reading.  When she saw "Jodi Picoult," she said, "Those are always sad ones."  I must say that this book is no exception, since it does deal with such a serious subject.  Willow, though young, is smart enough to know that her mother is involved in a lawsuit where she is continuously saying that she wishes Willow hadn't been born.  I can only imagine how this would affect the home life in the O'Keefe's residence.  Charlotte's marriage is falling apart since her husband can't understand why his wife is putting their children and family through this experience, her friendships are ruined since she's suing her best friend (who also happened to be the doctor), and her other daughter, Amelia is also suffering as part of this torn household.  I always find that these kind of books require you to be in the mood to read something "deep." 

As with many of Jodi Picoult's novels, each chapter was written from the point of view of a different person.  One chapter would be from the point of view of the lawyer, whereas another chapter could be from the point of view of Willow's sister.  I find this helps the reader to get "in the heads" of the various characters in the book.  It's not centered on just the people directly involved in the lawsuit, but also on other people who are affected by it. 

Another thing I liked about this book was how it informs us about OI.  I always find books interesting when they are dealing with a medical condition that I know nothing about (kind of like how I enjoyed Left Neglected by Lisa Genova, and felt like I had learned a lot about Left Neglect while reading the book).  It's a great way to look into the lives of people who are dealing with different health challenges and raise awareness on these issues.  In this case, I had never heard of OI before reading the book, and I feel like I understand more about the challenges that face an individual with OI after having read it. 

I enjoyed reading this Jodi Picoult book.  It dealt with serious, real issues, and though I'm not sure that I would have handled things the same way as the characters in the book, it's fiction.  If you're a fan of Jodi Picoult books, this one won't let you down.

LEFT neglected (Lisa Genova)

I most recently finished reading "LEFT neglected" by Lisa Genova.  Recognize the author?  She also wrote Still Alice, which I also read and enjoyed!

LEFT neglected is a novel about Sarah Nickerson, an extremely busy mom who must deal with a brain injury called Left Neglect.  Basically, her brain no longer let's her body recognize that she has a left side.  Or that anything has a left side.

Imagine you only apply makeup to the right half of your face.  Imagine you can only read the right half of a page.  Imagine you can't tell your body to move your left limbs.  This is what Sarah is dealing with. 

Maybe it's the science communicator in me, but I loved learning about Left Neglect through this novel.  Lisa Genova does a great job explaining what it must be like to live with this type of brain injury.

Here's an example from the book (though kind of lengthy, it's very interesting!):

"The first step in my recovery is to become aware of my unawareness, to constantly and repeatedly remind myself that my brain thinks it's paying attention to all of everything, but in fact, it's only paying attention to the right half of everything and nothing on the left.  Every second of the day, it seems, I forget that this is so.  While the part of my brain normally responsible for this awareness has taken a leave of absence, I have to recruit another part of my brain to be my own babysitter, to monitor my every move and to chime in whenever I need prompting.  Hey there, Sarah, you think you're seeing your whole face, but you're actually only paying attention to the right side.  There's another half there.  It's called the left.  Honest to God. 
The second step, once I become aware of my unawareness, is to expand this knowledge over to the left, to stretch my focus and imagination past what seems like the edge of the earth, and find the other half.  What used to be automatic and entirely behind the scenes - seeing the world as a whole and seamless - is now a painstaking and deliberate process of trying to reel a disconnected left into consciousness.  Look left.  Scan left.  Go left.  It sounds simple enough, but how do I look, scan, or go to a place that doesn't exist in my mind?"  (p. 127-128)

 Another part that stood out to me was when she was talking about how difficult it is for her to walk:

"But walking with a left leg that fades in and out of existence is enormously frustrating and complicated.  Even stepping forward with my right foot requires a conscious and continued faith in the existence of my left side, because when that right foot is in the space between here and there, I'm standing only on my left leg.  My left leg and foot have to be appropriately activated, compromising between flexion and extension, responsible for balancing me and holding all of my weight upright - a tall order for an appendage that feels no loyalty toward me whatsoever.
I sometimes think it would be easiest to hop on my right foot to get from place to place, but I haven't yet had the courage to try it.  Logically, hopping should work, but somehow I just know I'll end up sprawled out on the floor.  Anticipating this outcome really shouldn't deter me from giving it a shot, as I end up sprawled out on the floor most of the time anyway.  I have big, colorful bruises all over me.  I can't believe I haven't fractured a hip or dislocated my knee.  Thank God I have strong bones and loose joints.  I guess I realize that hopping isn't a practical long-term solution for mobility."  (p. 157)

While these quotes from the book help to share some of the challenges of dealing with Left Neglect, they don't even begin to touch the thoughts that go through Sarah's head as she's dealing with this brain injury and trying to keep up with her busy family.

I really enjoyed this novel and would definitely recommend it!