Special Collections
Blindness and Visual Impairment Special Collection
Description: A collection featuring biographies, memoirs, fiction and non-fiction by and about members of the blind community. #disability
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Inner Vision
by Craig Macfarlane and Gib TwymanCraig MacFarlane lost his sight at age 2 and went on to become not only the world's greatest blind athlete, but a much-sought-after motivational speaker. His message is PRIDE -- Perseverance, Respect, Individuality, Desire and Enthusiasm.
What Milo Saw
by Virginia MacgregorA BIG story about a small boy who sees the world a little differently.
Milo curled his thumb and forefinger together to make a small hole and held his fingers up to Al's eyes.
'Look through here. That's what I see. Kind of, only worse.''Wow, that must be amazing.'Milo shrugged. 'Not really.''I mean, it makes you focus, doesn't it? I bet you see all kinds of stuff that other people miss.'
Nine-year-old Milo Moon has retinitis pigmentosa: his eyes are slowly failing and he will eventually go blind. But for now he sees the world through a pin hole and notices things other people don't. When Milo's beloved gran succumbs to dementia and moves into a nursing home, Milo soon realises there's something wrong at the home. So with just Tripi, the nursing home's cook, and Hamlet, his pet pig, to help, Milo sets out on a mission to expose the nursing home and the sinister Nurse Thornhill.
Insightful, wise and surprising, What Milo Saw is filled with big ideas and simple truths. Milo sees the world in a very special way and it will be impossible for you not to fall in love with him and then share his story with everyone you know.
By Faith, Not By Sight
by Scott Macintyre and Jennifer SchuchmannA moving story of hope, faith, persistence and the power of dreams. In By Faith, Not by Sight, American Idol's first ever disabled finalist Scott MacIntyre shares his inspiring story of being a musical and academic prodigy who prevails over life-threatening obstacles to become a pop sensation. When stage four renal failure tries to stop his dream of studying classical piano in London, Scott bravely moves forward and finds new friendships and freedom despite his blindness. Then when his kidney transplant, a painful recovery, and his sister's kidney transplant all attempt to sideline him once more, he perseveres and makes it to the top ten finale of American Idol. Scott defies all odds: having to dance on stage, always having a sighted guide with him, and still singing with sound monitors that quit working. Despite so many obstacles, he goes on tour with the Idol cast, records an album (Heartstrings), and finds love for the first time. Through an unwavering faith in God and himself, Scott teaches all of us that our dreams are possible regardless of our circumstances. Though he can't see the world around him, he has always been able to see his dreams and pursues them fearlessly.
For the Benefit of Those Who See
by Rosemary Mahoney"In this intelligent and humane book, Rosemary Mahoney writes of people who are blind .... She reports on their courage and gives voice, time and again, to their miraculous dignity. " --Andrew Solomon, author of Far From the Tree *** In the tradition of Oliver Sacks's The Island of the Colorblind, Rosemary Mahoney tells the story of Braille Without Borders, the first school for the blind in Tibet, and of Sabriye Tenberken, the remarkable blind woman who founded the school. Fascinated and impressed by what she learned from the blind children of Tibet, Mahoney was moved to investigate further the cultural history of blindness. As part of her research, she spent three months teaching at Tenberken's international training center for blind adults in Kerala, India, an experience that reveals both the shocking oppression endured by the world's blind, as well as their great resilience, integrity, ingenuity, and strength. By living among the blind, Rosemary Mahoney enables us to see them in fascinating close up, revealing their particular "quality of ease that seems to broadcast a fundamental connection to the world. " Having read FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WHO SEE, you will never see the world in quite the same way again.
For the Benefit of Those Who See
by Rosemary Mahoney"In this intelligent and humane book, Rosemary Mahoney writes of people who are blind....She reports on their courage and gives voice, time and again, to their miraculous dignity."--Andrew Solomon, author of Far From the Tree
In the tradition of Oliver Sacks's The Island of the Colorblind, Rosemary Mahoney tells the story of Braille Without Borders, the first school for the blind in Tibet, and of Sabriye Tenberken, the remarkable blind woman who founded the school. Fascinated and impressed by what she learned from the blind children of Tibet, Mahoney was moved to investigate further the cultural history of blindness.
As part of her research, she spent three months teaching at Tenberken's international training center for blind adults in Kerala, India, an experience that reveals both the shocking oppression endured by the world's blind, as well as their great resilience, integrity, ingenuity, and strength.
By living among the blind, Rosemary Mahoney enables us to see them in fascinating close up, revealing their particular "quality of ease that seems to broadcast a fundamental connection to the world." Having read FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WHO SEE, you will never see the world in quite the same way again.
My Path Leads to Tibet
by Sabriye Tenberken and Rosemary MahoneyWhile studying Chinese and Asian civilizations in college, Sabriye Tenberken was stunned to learn that in Tibet blind children were living in appalling conditions--shunned by society, abandoned, and left to their own devices. Sabriye, who had lost her sight at the age of twelve as the result of a retinal disease, promised herself early on that she would never allow her blindness to turn her into an invalid. When she heard of a place where sightlessness was practically akin to leprosy, the decision was instant: she would go to Tibet to help these children.
Armed with nothing but her conviction and determination, she single-handedly devised a Tibetan Braille alphabet and opened the first school for the blind in Tibet, with only a handful of students. From its modest beginnings, that school has grown into a full-fledged institution for visually impaired people of all ages. In this updated edition of My Path Leads to Tibet, Sabriye, shares the inspiring story of how she shone an unlikely light in a dark place.
What Blind People Wish Sighted People Knew About Blindness! (Revised Edition)
by Harry Martin
Harry Martin became blind as the result of an eye disease he contracted while serving in the Navy in 1973. His eye condition began as a case of severe visual impairment, and progressed to total blindness over a period of twenty years. Harry lives with his wife, Carol, and his guide dog, Frankie in Orlando, Florida.
THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ FOR ALL SIGHTED PEOPLE!
Whether you know a blind person or not, you must read this book. The reader will gain a new understanding of what it is like to be blind, and to go blind. Find out why some blind people can see. Learn how guide dogs work. Discover how blind people do things without sight. If you have a blind relative, friend, spouse, or co-worker; this fascinating book will tell you how to relate to them better. Teachers, this book is an outstanding educational tool. Use it to teach your students all about blindness and the blind.
Out of the Whirlpool
by Sue Wiygul MartinSue Wiygul Martin has written a deeply honest and moving account of the rebuilding of her life after a desperate, impetuous act in her youth ended in traumatic blindness. Since that day, she has greeted the world with her trademark determination and humor, accepting the challenges placed before her as she adjusted to being blind.
She takes the reader through the process of blind rehabilitation in such a way that you feel you, too, are going through the process of learning new skills and making the emotional adjustment right along with her. You come to understand what it takes to rebuild a life after a traumatic episode that upends your world of dreams and expectations.
Now, after more than thirty years of an extraordinary recovery and reconciliation with the past, Martin is ready to share the simple truth of her journey. Advance readers have called her book a “Must read” for anyone in the field of blind rehab or anyone going through the adjustment to new blindness or other traumatic events in their lives. Martin’s truth is a universal truth, one which is so easy to lose sight of—we are all the same, yet so beautifully different. So, fasten your seat belts. Sue Martin would like to take you on a wild ride through this life of hers. Get ready for some joy, sorrow, beauty, a few cosmic slaps of enlightenment, and a thousand other thoughts and feelings along the way. Filled with adventure, with joy, and triumph, with adversity and adjustment to change, Out of the Whirlpool is a story about living life to the fullest. While she may have faced extraordinary challenges, in the end, she will tell you her story is everyone’s story.
The World as I Have Found It
by Mary L. Day ArmsA graduate of the Maryland Institution for the Blind, Mary L. Day published a memoir in 1859 entitled Incidents in the Life of a Blind Girl. In this book, a sequel to her first, she recounts how she traveled throughout the country earning a living through the sale of her memoir. She also writes about meeting her future husband, visiting places of interest, and having numerous adventures on the road. The book closes with several essays on blindness and the education of the blind and with a collection of poems by blind authors.
Blind Justice
by Floyd MatsonThis is the long-awaited biography of Dr. Jacobus ten-Broek, legal scholar, UC Berkeley professor, and leader of the blind movement until his death in 1968.
Dr. Floyd Matson was a long-time collaborator with Dr. ten-Broek, authoring several books together, and perhaps the man who is most familiar with ten-Broek's work, and his life alive today. Dr. ten-Broek, pupil of Dr. Newel Perry, teacher at the California School for the Blind, was present at the creation of the National Federation of the Blind in 1940, and was its spiritual, intellectual, and political leader until ten-Broek's death in 1968.
This is a must-read for all those interested in the man at the center of a movement for over 30 years, whose legacy and inspiration is still felt today among blind activists around the world.
I Can Feel Blue On Monday
by Marc MaurerThe title vignette involves a teacher who is determined that a young boy (who is blind) should be able to feel the color of the piece of paper which she gives him. When he assures her that this is not possible, the teacher badgers him until he answers: "I can feel blue on Monday." He is sent to the principal's office for punishment. The principal is a wise man, and the "punishment" is quite fun. "The present volume, I Can Feel Blue on Monday, is number nineteen in the [Kernel Book] series. Here you will meet old friends and new-the real blind men and women whose stories tell what blindness is and, perhaps equally important, what it is not. Although our problems often seem complex, they frequently result from simple matters of misunderstanding and lack of information. ... How does a blind tourist absorb the splendor of the palace of the Imperial Chinese Emperor? What about the woman with failing eyesight who can no longer see the beautiful wings of a butterfly-can she no longer hope to experience those magical moments of beauty which once moved her to tears? And, finally, if (as Thomas Edison once said) 80 percent of all we learn comes through the eye, can our hope for normal lives be anything more than a futile dream?
The Politics of Blindness
by Graeme MccreathThis book provides a rallying cry so that the voice of users of services can be heard, and both the provision of services can be tailored by and shaped to their needs.
The anti-discrimination clause, which I was proud to contribute to in the extension of the Disability Discrimination Act, the creation of the Disability Rights Commission (now part of the Equality and Human Flights Commission) and the Office of Disability inside UK government, has enabled individual and collective experience of inequality and discrimination to be tackled head on.
Dr. Devereux's Proposal
by Margaret McdonaghIt's the sexy French accent that captures physiotherapist Laurie's attention-even before she's seen the gorgeous new doctor in Penhally Bay!Dr Gabe Devereux has come to the idyllic Cornish town to escape life-instead he walks straight into the heart of the community. And there's one woman who intrigues him more than most.Laurie is overawed by Gabe's attention. But she doesn't want her secret to force him to stay. Little does Laurie realize that, as her sight declines, Gabe is ready to lead her up the aisle and be her one and only guiding light...forever.
Cry Purple
by Christine McdonaldThis is the story of the author's journey from almost two decades of prostitution, crack addiction and prison to her present life of blindness, motherhood and happiness.
Blind Man Running
by Michael McintireAutobiography of a blind man's journey through life as a traveling musician
What to Look for in Winter
by Candia McWilliamThe British literary sensation—“the most startling, discomforting, complicated, ungovernable, hilarious and heart-rending of memoirs ” (The Telegraph)—the story of a celebrated writer’s sudden descent into blindness, and of the redemptive journey into the past that her loss of sight sets in motion. Candia McWilliam, whose novels A Case of Knives, A Little Stranger, and Debatable Land made her a reader favorite throughout the United Kingdom and around the world, here breaks her decade-long silence with a searing, intimate memoir that fans of Lorna Sage’s Bad Blood, Mary Karr’s Lit, and Diana Athill’s Somewhere Toward the End will agree “cements her status as one of our most important literary writers beyond question” (Financial Times).
People of Vision
by James J. Megivern and Marjorie L. MegivernPeople of Vision: A History of the American Council of the Blind. The history of the treatment of individuals who are blind by other members of society is fraught with misconceptions, prejudices, myths, and stereotypes.
There are those who believe that blind people are OK as long as they stay "in their place," removed from society. Others feel that blind individuals are helpless and hopeless, deserving only of charity and pity. Still others have the notion that all blind people can be taught certain skills which make them unusually suited to a few specific jobs. The idea that people who are blind are first of all people, capable of and deserving the opportunity to be fully assimilated, fully participating members of society as equals has gained some recognition in certain parts of this country but still has a long way to go.
Infinite Vision
by Suchitra Shenoy and Pavithra MehtaThe Aravind Eye Care System reinvented the rules of business to restore sight to the blind. Based in India, it is the world's largest provider of eye care and delivers surgical outcomes that equal or surpass those of developed countries--at less than 1 percent of the cost. In thirty-five years it has treated over 32 million patients, the vast majority for free. Those who can pay choose what they pay, and there is no paperwork. Refusing to rely on donations, Aravind is self-sustaining and highly prof- itable. Its baffling model is the subject of a popular Harvard Business School case study and has won admiration from Peter Drucker, Bill Clinton, and Muhammud Yunus. Infinite Vision is the first book to probe Aravind's history and the distinctive philosophies, practices, and values that unleashed its phenomenal success. The authors share Aravind's improbable evolution from an eleven-bed eye clinic founded by Dr. G. Venkataswamy, a retired surgeon with crippled fingers, no money, and a magnificent dream. Drawing inspiration from his spirituality and, of all things, the low-cost, high-volume, standardized approach of fast-food franchises, Dr. V. and his team (which includes thirty-five ophthalmologists from his family) created an or- ganization that has treated everyone from penniless farmers to the president of India. How does Aravind flourish while flouting conventional logic at every turn? What can enterprises worldwide learn from it? Infinite Vision reveals the power of a model that integrates innovation with empathy, service with business principles, and inner change with outer transformation. It shows how choices that seem nai?ve or unworkable can, when executed with wisdom and integrity, yield powerful results--results that light the eyes of millions.
The Stolen Light
by Ved MehtaThe author recounts his experiences as a blind college student, and tells how he came to write his first book.
A Most Noble Benefaction
by C. Michael MellorFrom the letter in 1908 that started it all, this book tells the story of the Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind, how it changed history, and has helped change many lives for the better.
The Two-In-One
by Rod MichalkoWhen Rod Michalko's sight finally became so limited that he no longer felt safe on busy city streets, he began to search for a guide.
Reading by Touch
by Susanna MillarThe perceptual, linguistic and cognitive processes involved in sighted reading have been widely studied, but the use of touch raises new issues. Drawing on her research with novice and fluent braille readers, Susanna Millar examines how people initially process braille and how skill with sounds, words, meaning and spelling patterns influence processing. The main focus is on braille, but findings on the "Moon" script, vibrotactile devices, maps and icons are also considered in the context of their practical implications and access to computer technology.
Eclipse
by Hugues De Montalembert and David NoakesUp until 1978, the author, a French count by birth, was a painter. He travelled extensively working on documentary films such as I A Dancer about Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. He took a deep interest in the culture of the countries he visited: the harlem voodoo in West Africa and Indonesian music in Bali. On May 25th 1978, when returning to his apartment in New York from a Greenwich Village coffee-house, he was met by two intruders who threw caustic solution in his face. At the age of thirty-five he was blinded for life. Hugues de Montalembert is currently based in Rome although he continues to travel between Europe, America and South East Asia. The French edition of ECLIPSE became a bestseller when it was published in 1982 and the author is currently working on his second book.
Invisible
by Hugues De MontalembertThe impressionistic memoir of an artist who was blinded in a sudden act of violence, leading to a profound meditation on what it means to see and be seen. "You live in a city like New York. You read the papers. You look at the television. But you never think it will happen to you. It happened to me one evening. " One summer night in 1978, Hugues de Montalembert returned home to his New York City apartment to find two men robbing him. In a violent struggle, one of the assailants threw paint thinner in Hugues' face. Within a few hours, he was completely blind. Eloquent and provocative, Invisible moves beyond the horrific events of that night to what happened to Hugues after he lost his sight: his rehabilitation, his solo travels around the world, and the remarkable way he learned to "see" even without the use of his eyes. Without a trace of self-pity, Hugues describes his transition from an up-and-coming painter to a blind man who had to learn to walk with a cane. His status changed in the eyes of other people as their reactions ranged from avoidance to making him their confidant. Hugues traveled to faraway places and learned to trust strangers and find himself at home in any situation. Part philosophy, part autobiography, part inspiration, Invisible will change the way readers understand reality and their place in the world.
Odyssey
by Walter MosleyIn this gripping and provocative eBook original novel celebrated bestselling author Walter Mosley explores the mind of an African-American man who is forced to re-examine his most closely held beliefs about race and about himself. Sovereign James wakes up one morning to discover that he's gone blind.Sovereign's doctors can't find anything wrong with him, nor does he remember any physical or psychological trauma. Unless his sight returns, Sovereign has reached the end of his 25-year career in human resources. A couple of weeks later he is violently mugged on the street. His sight briefly, miraculously returns during the attack: for a few seconds, he can see as well as hear a young female bystander's cries of distress. Now he must grapple with two questions: What caused him to lose his vision--and, perhaps more troubling, why does violence restore it? As Sovereign searches for the woman he glimpsed, he will come to question everything he valued about his former life.