Author Darlene Linda Jones-Brooks has been through a lot in her life-and, strangely enough, many of the worst physical experiences have happened on the left side of her body.

When she was thirteen, a cousin accidentally stabbed her in the wrist. As an adult, she got caught in the crossfire of random shooting and lost half her left kidney due to the resulting injury. Later, a severe pain in her left leg led to a diagnosis of lupus, and she developed breast cancer, with the tumor appearing in her left breast. In addition, over the course of her life, she has been a victim of rape and...