“Going Blind”

~ Elizabeth

Andrew Leland’s new memoir The Country of the Blind takes its title from an H.G. Wells short story in which an sighted explorer finds a civilization of the blind and declares that “In the Country of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is King.” I picked up his book to learn more about retinitis pigmentosa(RP) which I first encountered in a blog I follow. In that instance the son of the writer has RP. In the memoir Leland himself is slowly experiencing loss of sight from the diagnosis.

Leland walks an uneasy path between the fully sighted and the fully blind, and he is clear that while he learns about the country of the blind he has yet to totally inhabit it. Instead he recounts both his deteriorating vision, its effects on him and his family and his attempt to learn as much as he can about blindness while he still has some, though limited, sight.

While I did learn more about RP, the book proved valuable beyond that initial impetus. He writes of the kinds of internal conflict that readers may be familiar with from the deaf community. Squabbles over using or not using canes, of using or not using Braille on crosswalks, of seeing blindness as a disability or not go on as he travels. His approach is always compassionate and it allowed me to see that there is no such thing as a blind person. There is always only one individual with vision impairments.

Most fascinating are the technological advances we now take for granted that originally were developed as assistive aids for the blind. These include optical readers, text to speech programs, and audio books.

The book avoids melodrama. At one point he addresses peoples’ fear of going blind. “Going blind is not dying;” it is adjusting to the world in a new way.

16 thoughts on ““Going Blind””

  1. Blindness has always been a fear of mine. My mum lost 90% of her sight to wet macular degeneration in her 80s, and she became angry and bitter about not being able to read, or watch TV. She would rage at the disability.
    “I don’t want to hear things, I want to see them!” It broke my heart to see her later life ruined by poor eyesight.
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Like

    Reply

  3. Oh, I fear that predicament, being blind. Could not yet be operated on because of the cataract in my right. The left one was done back in 2018 and I am having eye floaters now🥰

    Like

    Reply

  4. I plan to use as many aids as I can to continue to see. One eye has 20/20 vision, while the other is still fluctuating. The doctor says I should wait to get glasses. It has already been two years since the retina leaked, and it hasn’t settled down yet. The real danger is having the good eye fail. I try to remind myself daily to enjoy the wonderful views of the mountains on every side. How I pray I don’t become bitter!

    Like

    Reply

    1. My dad only had one eye after a childhood snowball packed with a rock hit him. He was very cautious with his good eye and had a close relationship with his ophthalmologist.

      Like

      Reply

  5. It sounds like a fascinating read Elizabeth 🙂
    As I was reading your post I thought of the following ol’ saying I heard when I was a child;
    ‘…there’s none so blind as though who will not see’
    Blessings, Jennifer

    Like

    Reply

  6. Hi Elizabeth, this sounds like an insightful memoir. I would not like to be blind but if it ever happens I will cope and learn how to manage. Diversity comes to everyone just in deferent ways.

    Like

    Reply

  7. Aravind’s book was published recently. My cousin sent an article about Andrew Leyland. Aravind sent a mail to Leyland and he responded very warmly. Aravind too has retinitis Pigmentosa from birth. I am going to read this book next.

    Like

    Reply

  8. A few years ago Aravind told me that I should develop the habit of listening to books. It keeps our options open. Now audio books are a very important part of my life .

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment