Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

This irreverent, tragicomic, astoundingly articulate memoir about going blind--and growing up--illuminates both the author's reality and our own On his 18th birthday, Ryan Knighton was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a congenital, progressive disease marked by night-blindness, tunnel vision and, eventually, total blindness. In this penetrating, nervy memoir, which ricochets between meditation and black... (more)

Planet of the Blind

by Stephen Kuusisto

Stephen Kuusisto, an American, has been almost completely blind since a post-natal operation severely damaged his retinas. In this autobiography he tells of the years of lonely childhood spent behind bottle-lens glasses, the struggle through high school and college, and first love and sex. Derided by classmates, his parents pretending that nothing was wrong, he stumbled through life enraged and mortified. Only... (more)

Privileged Hands: A Scientific Life

by Geerat Vermeij

No ordinary biography, Privileged Hands is the story of Dr. Geerat Vermeij's challenge and triumph as a preeminent evolutionary biologist and paleontologist and also as a blind man. Provacative and intelligent storytelling, it reveals as much about our own lives as it does about this one, remarkable, scientist's life.15 illustrations.

The Story of My Life

by Hellen Keller, Annie Sullivan, John Albert Macy, Dorothy Herrmann, Roger Shattuck

Great story of human courage and dedication recounted in autobiography of a remarkable woman: the magical moment when Miss Keller first recognizes the connection between words and objects, her joy at learning how to speak, friendships with notable figures, her education at Radcliffe and an extraordinary relationship with her inspired teacher, Anne Sullivan. An unforgettable portrait of one of the 20th century’s... (more)

Touching the Rock: An Experience of Blindness

Touching the Rock: An Experience of Blindness

by John M. Hull

Shortly after John Hull went blind, after years of struggling with failing vision, he had a dream in which he was trapped on a sinking ship, submerging into another, unimaginable world. The power of this calmly eloquent, intensely perceptive memoir lies in its thorough navigation of the world of blindness -- a world in which stairs are safe and snow is frightening, where food and sex lose much of their allure and... (more)

No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer

No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer

by Rachael Scdoris

No End In Sight is the first-person story of a young sled dog racer who had to overcome an incredible obstacle to compete—born legally blind, Rachael grew up amid the taunts of classmates who made fun of her until her innate athletic talent gave her an arena in which to shine. Rachael was the youngest athlete ever to compete in a 500-mile sled dog race, but her dream goal was to participate in the sport’s top... (more)

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Tags: blindness memoir

Cockeyed: A Memoir

by Ryan Knighton