From the Book Jacket:
"The bandages came off, and then there was the wonder, the suddenly engulfing knowledge that I could see. I had escaped the infinite black pit. I could see!"
Here is one of the warmest, most moving stories in many years-of a young woman who was born blind, spent twenty-eight years in blackness, then suddenly could see! It is also the story of Emma, the smart, funny guide-dog who saved her life.
As a blind child, Sheila Hocken tried desperately to keep up with normal youngsters. Determined to lead her own life despite her handicap, she bravely confronted all obstacles. But it was terribly difficult, and as she grew up it seemed she would have to accept the inevitable-a life of dependence on others.
Then came three miracles. First, she was given a seeing-eye dog, a chocolate-brown retriever named Emma-a most lovable animal. Emma provided more than eyes for Sheila; she became part of a joint personality. (Readers will
be thrilled as Emma ingeniously leads Sheila through all sorts of dangers.)
Then, after assuming she would never marry, Sheila met a wonderful man, and they fell in love. And finally, in the book's climactic scene, she had an operation that instantly gave her perfect vision. Sheila's radiant descriptions of what it is like to see after a lifetime in the dark are incredibly powerful, as is this whole unforgettable book.
sheila hocken is thirty years old and lives in Nottingham, England.
Don and Sheila Hocken and their daughter, Kerensa.
"By the time I was nineteen, even the blurred shapes I had always seen had vanished, had been swallowed up seemingly forever. It was at this point, when my future seemed to be a dark vacuum, that a miracle came into my life. A new world opened up for me. I was given Emma."
