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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My Eyes Have A Cold Nose
by Hector ChevignyThe author says that when he became blind, he thought it would be a great nuissance, and indeed it was. He maintains that the greatest problem for blind people is society's fixed notions that blind people are utterly helpless and utterly tragic, and he describes how he and other blind people have dealt with this problem. One of the key parts of his rehabilitation was his training at The Seeing Eye. This book is old, but still relevant in many ways.
One of the Lucky Ones
by Lucy Ching
Many people might think me unlucky because I am blind, writes Lucy Ching in this poignant autobiography, but I prefer to think of myself as one of the lucky ones.
Indeed, Lucy Ching's achievements despite total blindness would be outstanding in any time and place- especially so in China of the 1930s, where the blind were treated as outcasts and blind children were sometimes sold into slavery by their own families. Lucy Ching was fortunate enough to be kept at home with her parents, but as she reveals in this remarkable memoir, her triumph over her disability was due to her own fierce determination... and to a very special friendship. Under the devoted care of her amah, an illiterate servant woman who was guided only by common sense, intuition and affection for the child, Lucy Ching learned to live in a sighted world, vowing to have the independence and fulfillment of a profession.
As a child, Lucy taught herself to read and write in braille and was allowed to attend school with sighted children. And, quite against the beliefs of her family, she converted to Christianity and made a solemn promise to God that her lifework would be to help the blind. Lucy's unflagging dedication was rewarded with a scholarship to the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, where she received the special training which has enabled her to carry out her promise.
My life could have been spent in enforced idleness and isolation, observes Lucy Ching, cut off from other people and their lives and problems. But I was luckier than that. God had other plans for me.
Like Helen Keller, she found herself, her work and her God through affliction. Today Lucy Ching is a social worker in Hong Kong, where she works with the blind as well as other handicapped people.
Blind
by Belo Miguel CiprianiThis memoir is based on the author's experience in losing his vision and learning to navigate the sighted-centric world.
First Lady of the Seeing Eye
by Morris Frank and Blake ClarkThis story written by Morris Frank tells of how he trained in Switzerland with Buddy, the first Seeing Eye dog in America. Also tells of the very early history of The Seeing Eye in Morristown N.J. "Here are adventures that encompass thirty years and countless of miles: the fight to have dog guides admitted to restaurants and hotels, trains and planes; lectures and demonstrations all over the country; meetings with millionaires and Presidents--and with mountaineers and truckdrivers; and the humor and pathos of day-to-day events. The story begins on page 11. Un-numbered pages of photos, described and with captions, are between pages 64 and 65.
Now We Are Citizens
by Emily-Jane Cohen and Zina WeygandThe integration of the blind into society has always meant taking on prejudices and inaccurate representations.
Weygand's highly accessible anthropological and cultural history introduces us to both real and imaginary figures from the past, uncovering French attitudes towards the blind from the Middle Ages through the first half of the nineteenth century. Much of the book, however, centers on the eighteenth century, the enlightened age of Diderot's emblematic blind man and of the Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, founded by Valentin Haüy, the great benefactor of blind people.
Weygand paints a moving picture of the blind admitted to the institutions created for them and of the conditions under which they lived, from the officially-sanctioned beggars of the medieval Quinze-Vingts to the cloth makers of the Institute for Blind Workers. She has also uncovered their fictional counterparts in an impressive array of poems, plays, and novels. The book concludes with Braille, whose invention of writing with raised dots gave blind people around the world definitive access to silent reading and to written communication.
Poor Miss Finch
by Wilkie CollinsWilkie Collins's intriguing story about a blind girl, Lucilla Finch, and the identical twins who both fall in love with her, has the exciting complications of his better-known novels but it also overturns conventional expectations. Using a background of myth and fairy-tale to expand the boundaries of nineteenth-century realist fiction, Collins gives one of the best accounts in fiction of blindness and its implications.
Mindsight
by Kenneth Ring and Sharon CooperRing and Cooper explore evidence that even those blind from birth can "see" during near-death experiences. Their evidence reveals a unique type of perception. More than just "seeing", it involves a deep awareness and profound ability to know that the authors have called "Mindsight".
This volume is a ground-breaking work in the field of near-death studies. It investigates the astonishing claim that blind persons, including those blind from birth, can actually "see" during near-death or out-of-body episodes. The authors present their findings in scrupulous detail, investigating case histories of blind persons who have actually reported visual experiences under these conditions.
No Limits
by Harry C. Cordellos and Janet WellsImagine a blind person water-skiing, golfing, running a marathon, and even diving. Harry Cordello did not let his blindness limit his activity. Instead he asked himself "Why not"?
Never Be Discouraged
by Alice CrespoAlice Crespo was born in New York City, raised in Brooklyn, and grew up totally blind. She had to learn many things, and she realized that, with God's help, there was nothing that she couldn't do. The sky was the limit. Alice is now sixty years of age, and she wants to share her experiences and her life lessons with you. Here is her story. Contains image descriptions.
In The Land I Did Not Choose
by Ana L. CuevasPrejudice and discrimination against people with mental and physical disabilities still exist. Ana L. Cuevas, a blind woman, knows this all too well. But she also knows compassion, love, and courage. This book is a testament to her determination to reach her dreams no matter the obstacles. As a young girl, Ana moved to the United States from Mexico against her will. Her parents picked this country, and though it has its faults, Ana is forever grateful. This land is where she received the proper education and tools to lead a full life. However, while researching pregnancy and disabilities, Ana realizes she is considered different in the eyes of others. Many "able-bodied" people assume blindness affects intelligence, speech, and other capabilities. Knowing this changes the way Ana looks at the world. This is a problem that must be addressed by the public and the government to alleviate prejudices and help people with disabilities achieve the same success as their peers. This poignant memoir will have you cheering, crying, and standing up for love and acceptance of all people in this world. It is a must-read for counselors, social workers, psychologists, and teachers.
Enticed
by Kathleen DanteSpecial ops agent Dillon Gavin is taking a break from his demanding schedule when his life takes an unexpected-and complicated-turn. Her name is Jordan Kane, a beautiful artist. Legally blind, she paints with her inner eye-which affords her an uncanny, and sometimes breathtaking, clairvoyance. What she sees in Dillon-comfortable in an unpredictable world of intrigue, espionage, and brute violence-is the kind of man that an artistic, gentle soul like Jordan never experienced before. Her sixth sense tells her that Dillon wants her. Her common sense says stay away. But from his first sensuous touch in the dark comes an irresistible urge that dares to take Jordan where's she's never gone before.
Some Kind of Genius
by Janice Deblois and Antonia FelixFor everyone whose heart was touched by the movie Rain Man, here is the inspiring true story of an exceptional autistic savant whose musical gifts thrill audiences the world over. Ever since he was born--blind and weighing less than two pounds--Tony DeBlois has been defying the odds and wildly surpassing others' expectations. Tony's story will hold special appeal for all who have seen him on the Today s how and Entertainment Tonight, etc.
Candle in the Window
by Christina DoddLady Saura of Roget lives a lonely life of servitude-her fortune controlled by her cruel, unscrupulous stepfather. Yet it is she who has been called upon to brighten the days of Sir William of Miraval, a proud and noble knight who once swore to live or perish by the sword . . . until his world was engulfed in agonizing darkness. Summoned to Sir William's castle, the raven-haired innocent is soon overcome by desire and love for the magnificent, golden warrior who has quickly laid siege to her heart. But there is grave danger awaiting them both just beyond the castle walls . . . and a dear and deadly price to be paid for surrendering to a fiery, all-consuming love.
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr*NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES—from producer and director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti* Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, the beloved instant New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review Top 10 Book about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris, and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure&’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum&’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the Resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure&’s converge. Doerr&’s &“stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors&” (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer &“whose sentences never fail to thrill&” (Los Angeles Times).
Breaking the Bonds of Blindness
by Mark Jacoby and Bill DriverHad he stayed in public school, he would have been in ninth grade, but without sight, he had to go to the school for the blind, where he found himself in class with kindergarteners. He had to learn braille--harder for him since his arms were longer and the dot messages had longer paths to travel--and he couldn't get out of eighth grade until he got those reading skills. Always the optimist, Bill graduated and had a lot of fun along the way. Bill and his family encountered plenty of stumbling blocks, but with humor, love, and ingenuity, they persevered, enjoying life and each other. This book is humorous, inspiring,and real--a fascinating and enjoyable autobiography.
Veterans with a Vision
by Serge Marc DurflingerDurflinger (history, the University of Ottawa, Canada) chronicles advocacy by Canadian servicemen blinded in war, highlighting their efforts to help Canadian veterans and all blind citizens. The book begins with the establishment of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in 1918 by 200 Canadian servicemen blinded in WWI, then continues with the formation of the Sir Arthur Pearson Association of War Blinded, which advocated for government benefits, job retraining, and other social programs. Key figures are profiled, and issues such as physical and psychological rehabilitation are discussed. The book is based on archival material from both organizations.
Diversity and Visual Impairment
by Madeline Milian and Jane N. ErinA scholarly collection of insightful essays which look at how visual impairment interacts with certain social characteristics to affect human personalities.
Across Two Novembers
by David Faucheux
Friends and family. Restaurants and recipes. Hobbies and history. TV programs the author loved when he could still see and music he enjoys. The schools he attended and the two degrees he attained. The career that eluded him and the physical problems that challenge him. And books, books, books: over 230 of them quoted from or reviewed. All in all, an astonishing work of erudition and remembrance.
Going Blind
by Mara FaulknerMara Faulkner grew up in a family shaped by Irish ancestry, a close-to-the-bone existence in rural North Dakota, and the secret of her father's blindness--along with the silence and shame surrounding it. Dennis Faulkner had retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease that gradually blinded him and one that may blind many members of his family, including the author.
Moving and insightful, Going Blind explores blindness in its many Permutations-within the context of the author's family, more broadly, as a disability marked by misconceptions, and as a widely used cultural metaphor. Mara Faulkner delicately weaves her family's story into an analysis of the roots and ramifications of the various metaphorical meanings of blindness, touching of the Catholic Church of the 1940s, and 1950s, Japanese internment, the Germans from Russia who dominated her hometown, and the experiences of Native people in North Dakota.
Neither sentimental nor dispassionate, the author asks whether it's possible to find gifts when sight is lost.
Andrea Bocelli
by Antonia FelixThe author presents text and pictures from Andrea Bocelli's life. Information concerning how different conductors worked with Andrea as he made his entrance in the opera are included.
Carry On
by Lisa FennIn the spirit of The Blind Side and Friday Night Lights comes a tender and profoundly moving memoir about an ESPN producer's unexpected relationship with two disabled wrestlers from inner city Cleveland, and how these bonds--blossoming, ultimately, into a most unorthodox family--would transform their lives.
When award-winning ESPN producer Lisa Fenn returned to her hometown for a story about two wrestlers at one of Cleveland's toughest public high schools, she had no idea that the trip would change her life. Both young men were disadvantaged students with significant physical disabilities. Dartanyon Crockett was legally blind as a result of Leber's disease; Leroy Sutton lost both his legs at eleven, when he was run over by a train. Brought together by wrestling, they had developed a brother-like bond as they worked to overcome their disabilities. After forming a profound connection with Dartanyon and Leroy, Fenn realized she couldn't just walk away when filming ended; these boys had had to overcome the odds too many times. Instead, Fenn dedicated herself to ensuring their success long after the reporting was finished and the story aired--and an unlikely family of three was formed. The years ahead would be fraught with complex challenges, but Fenn stayed with the boys every step of the way--teaching them essential life skills, helping them heal old wounds and traumatic pasts, and providing the first steady and consistent support system they'd ever had.This powerful memoir is one of love, hope, faith, and strength--a story about an unusual family and the courage to carry on, even in the most extraordinary circumstances.
Long Time, No See
by Beth FinkeLong Time, No See is certainly an inspiring story, but Beth Finke does not aim to inspire. Eschewing reassuring platitudes and sensational pleas for sympathy, she charts her struggles with juvenile diabetes, blindness, and a host of other hardships, sharing her feelings of despair and frustration as well as her hard-won triumphs. Rejecting the label "courageous," she prefers to describe herself using the phrase her mother invoked in times of difficulty: "She did what she had to do." With unflinching candor and acerbic wit, Finke chronicles the progress of the juvenile diabetes that left her blind at the age of twenty-six as well as the seemingly endless spiral of adversity that followed. First she was forced out of her professional job. Then she bore a multiply handicapped son. But she kept moving forward, confronting marital and financial problems and persevering through a rocky training period with a seeing-eye dog. Finke's life story and her commanding knowledge of her situation give readers a clear understanding of diabetes, blindness, and the issues faced by parents of children with significant disabilities. Because she has taken care to include accurate medical information as well as personal memoir, Long Time, No See serves as an excellent resource for others in similar situations and for professionals who deal with disabled adults or children.
A Brush With Darkness
by Lisa FittipaldiWhen Lisa Fittipaldi went blind at the age of forty-seven, she descended into a freefall of anger and denial that lasted for two years. In this moving memoir, she paints a vivid picture of the perceptual and emotional darkness that accompanied her vision loss, and her arduous journey back into the sighted world through mastery of the principles of art and color.
Blind Moon Alley
by John FlorioIt's Prohibition. It's Philadelphia. And Jersey Leo doesn't fit in. Jersey is an albino of mixed race. Known as "Snowball" on the street, he tends bar at a speakeasy the locals call the Ink Well. There, he's considered a hero for having saved the life of a young boy. But when his old grade school buddy, Aaron Garvey, calls from death row and asks for one last favor, all hell breaks loose.Jersey finds himself running from a band of crooked cops, hiding an escaped convict in the Ink Well, and reuniting with his grammar school crush--the now sultry Myra Banks, who has shed a club foot and become a speakeasy siren. Through it all, Jersey tries to safeguard the Ink Well with no help other than his ragtag group of friends: his ex-boxing-champion father, Ernie Leo; the street-savvy Johalis; a dim-witted dockworker named Homer; and the dubious palm reader Madame Curio. With them, Jersey digs for the truth about his friend Aaron Garvey--and winds up discovering a few things about himself.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Sugar Pop Moon
by John FlorioJersey Leo is the quintessential outsider--an albino of mixed race. Known as "Snowball" on the street, he makes a living as the bartender at a mob-run speakeasy in Prohibition-era Hell's Kitchen. Being neither black nor white, he has no group to call his own. His own mother abandoned him as a baby. And his father-a former boxing champ with his own secrets-disapproves of Jersey's work at a dive owned by one of New York's most notorious gangsters. So when he inadvertently purchases counterfeit moonshine ("sugar pop moon") with his boss's money-a potentially fatal mistake-he must go undercover to track down the bootlegger who took him in. The clues lead to Philadelphia, where he runs into a cleaver-swinging madman out for his femurs and a cold-blooded gangster holed up on a Christmas-tree farm. Now with a price on his head in two cities, Jersey seeks help from the only man he can trust, his father. As the two delve into the origins of the mysterious sugar pop moon, stunning secrets about Jersey's past come to light. To ensure his future, Jersey must face his past, even if it means that life will never return to normal.