A memoir in which the author explores his journey in slowly losing his sight. Well researched and honest.

He lost me with the male gaze chapter. DNF at 50%.

4.5. Wow, now this is my type of book - part memoir, part research - the author takes us on a journey with him through his own experience going blind progressively, learning Braille (while also going over the history of Braille, the new debate over whether learning it is worth it when audiobooks and audio processors for computers exist), and the intersectionality of blindness with other identities, politics, and more. Chapter 9 "Lady Liberty" is one of the best chapters of anything nonfiction I've ever read - I want to print it out and hand it to everyone I meet, and I wish I got the opportunity to read this chapter in a college class to dissect it. Ch9's highlights include discussing how the Black Panthers brought food to blind protesters advocating for disability rights, intersectionality's importance (especially when blind people can name that they don't "see color" when addressing how they feel about race issues), and the question of abortion, both in general but also if parents find out that their fetus will be disabled (ie: has an extra chromosome marker for Down Syndrome, or other hereditary health conditions). Overall, there was a lot of food for thought here, and I appreciated this book. One of the most impactful nonfiction books I've read this year, and I'll keep this in my head for a long time to come.

I really enjoyed this memoir. The thing I think that made this such a great read was Leland's sense of curiosity. It is his story, but it is definitely an open minded exploration. Loved it.

A really fascinating book. Learned a lot. I especially liked the author's openness about his changing and evolving feelings about his blindness.