I learned a lot from this book, and I especially enjoyed listening to the author’s narration. I sometimes felt confused or thrown off by the way the anecdotes/chapters were organized. While intersectionality was discussed, I wished the author had delved more deeply into its layers and perspectives. I think this journalistic memoir would’ve worked even better as a serial podcast, perhaps featuring interviews with some of the people mentioned in the book. Overall, I was pleased with this book club selection and I’m happy to have read it!

This was an enlightening read. it really changed my perspective on disability generally and blindness specifically. Leland writes in such an intimate and emotionally moving way. i especially enjoyed the stories of the people he has met on his journey. i would recommend this book to anyone 

Poignant, illuminating, engaging, lovely

The Country of the Blind was an excellent mix of non-fiction, history, cultural exploration, personal reflection and commentary. It is a liminal memoir, as the author documents the pivot of his life between sighted and blind, and asks more questions than it answers - when does one become blind, what does it mean to transition away from visual sense and memory, how do our relationships change with disability, how does the world understand the capabilities of blind and low-vision folks and how do blind and low-vision folks want the world to understand. 

I appreciated, in particular, the author's vulnerability in confronting his own internalized ableism alongside the ableism he and other blind folks experience in a predominantly sighted culture day-to-day. He has a unique entry point into community with other blind folks, and reflects at length on the slow progression of his blindness and how that keeps him between worlds indefinitely.

I particularly enjoyed The Makers chapter, learning about blind creatives and inventors and the many technologies (audiobooks, OCR, epub, and more) we owe to blind folks. As a sighted reader, I was fascinated to learn about the early history of audiobooks in particular, and appreciated how these historical reflections segwayed into accessibility tools and devices today. It's a direct reminder, too, that today's companies often invest in accessibility technology not out of a sense of altruism, but because they know they can apply them to broader uses, and we ignore their original use and intention as we adapt these technologies to the non-disabled.

The audiobook is narrated by the author, and I highly recommend the audio.

A must read for anyone who wants to understand the modern experience of disability, or feel validated in their own interactions with oppressive systems. This book is impressively intersectional, touching on sexism, racism, religious, and other cultural overlap with the blind community. Leland writes with great insight, compassion, and clarity on a topic few authors have tried to tackle: a disability narrative with the nuances fully present, challenging, and affirming to anyone who's living with similar struggles and joys.