Article
Recommended Reads: Blindness history, memoirs, and biographies, oh my!
Nonfiction books and films that are by or about people who are (or were) blind or visually impaired
“At the far end of my years, I am surrounded
by a persistent, luminous, fine mist
which reduces all things to a single thing
with neither form nor color.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (on his experience of going blind later in life)
The following is a collection of nonfiction books that are written by or about people who are (or were) blind or visually impaired. The stigma of blindness is often more debilitating than blindness itself. These memoirs and biographies show that there are just as many different kinds of lives of those who are blind as there are of those who are sighted. Let us celebrate the diversity of those who are scientists, artists, poets, parents, people of color, mountain climbers, runners; all, who just happen to be blind.
Digital book (DB, DBC), braille (BR), large print (LT), and audio described video (DVD) copies of these titles are available from Perkins Library or the Worcester Talking Book Library. Please contact Perkins Library to order any of these books.
Prepared by Vicki Vogt, Registration Services Librarian, Perkins Library
A Girl and Five Brave Horses
by Sonora Webster Carver
DB 96966, available as BARD download
Memoir by one of the first female horse divers—performers who dive from high platforms into tanks of water while astride a horse. The author lost her sight in 1931 when a dive went wrong, but she continued to perform. 1961.
Artificial Divide
edited by Robert Kingett and Randy Lacey
DBC 19240, available as BARD download
A collection of short stories by authors who are blind or visually impaired about central characters who are blind or visually impaired. They write in a variety of genres including fantasy, school stories, and crime. Adult. Unrated. 2021.
Download Artificial Divide, DBC 19240
Blindsight
directed by Lucy Walker
DVD 500
The gripping true-life adventure of six blind Tibetan teenagers on a climbing expedition up formidable 23,000 ft. Lhakpa Ri, at the doorstep of Mount Everest. Believed to be possessed by demons because of their blindness, the children are feared by their parents, scorned by their villages and rejected by society. Rescued by a blind educator, Sabriye Tenberken, the students invite a famous blind mountain climber, Erik Weihenmayer, to visit their school and let him lead them higher than they have ever been before. The result is nothing anyone could have predicted. 2008.
Can You See Me Now?
by Tiffany Dawn Kohnen
DB 123231, available as BARD download
Do you want to be a better ally to people who are blind or have low vision? Reading this book is a great first step. Have you seen someone struggling with accessibility and wanted to help, but were afraid of offending them? Do you want to help your child struggling with their disability? Do you want to get to know your blind neighbor or coworker? “Can You See Me Now?” tackles fourteen different subjects and strategies meant to educate you about this disability so you can be there for the visually impaired. You’ll learn: How to be an effective guide when walking with the blind. How to appropriately tell the blind person who you are. More information about different kinds of vision loss. What phrases are offensive to the blind community. What Locator Words are and how to use them. When you should and should not pet service animals. How and why blind people use a white cane. This book was written with strategies gathered from Tiffany Kohnen’s experience growing up with vision loss and extensive surveys of those in the blind community. 2021.
Connecting Dots: A Blind Life
by Joshua A. Miele
DB 127356, available as BARD download
At the age of four, Joshua Miele was blinded and badly burned when a neighbor poured sulfuric acid over his head. It could have ended his life, but instead, Miele—naturally curious, and a born problem solver—not only recovered, but thrived. Throughout his life, Miele has found increasingly inventive ways to succeed in a world built for the sighted, and to help others to do the same. At first reluctant to even think of himself as blind, he eventually embraced his blindness and became a committed advocate for disability and accessibility. Along the way, he grappled with drugs and addiction, played bass in a rock band, worked for NASA, became a guerilla activist, and married the love of his life and had two children. He chronicles the evolution of a number of revolutionary accessible technologies and his role in shaping them, including screen readers, tactile maps, and audio description.
Download Connecting Dots, DB 127356
Dogwood Blossom: Growing Up Native American
by DeAnna Quietwater Noriega
DBC 11736, available as BARD download
In Dogwood Blossom, the author invokes a simpler time and how it was growing up in a world that didn’t always accept her. Poverty and oppression are no match for the strong bonds among the members of this hardworking and loving family. The life lessons here will resonate with readers young and old. Adult. Unrated. 2023.
Going Blind: Coming Out of the Dark About Vision Loss
produced by Joseph F. Lovett
DVD 1169
A documentary of personal stories about coping with vision loss, and bringing awareness to low vision therapy. Written, produced and starring Joseph Lovett. NR. 2010.
Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet’s Journey
by Stephen Kuusisto
DBC 91578, BR 22283, available as BARD download
The poet and author of memoir Eavesdropping (DB 63716), legally blind since birth, recounts stories of life with his first guide dog, Corky, acquired at age thirty-eight, and how this life-changing partnership transformed Kuusisto’s interaction with the world. Some strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2018.
I Am the Dancing
by Mani G. Iyer
DBC 11628, available as BARD download
In this short collection of poems, Mani G. Iyer walks the reader through his experiences, growing up in a lower middle-class family in the city of Bombay, India followed by the slow progression of blindness while living in the United States. Towards the end he dabbles into belief that there is more than mind and body to the I and that his experiences are the result of the dancing of that I. 2019.
I’ll Push, You Steer: The Definitive Guide to Stumbling Through Life With Blinders On
by Ronda Del Boccio
DBC 6003, available as BARD download
Bonnie Tesh, a cancer survivor, and Ronda Del Boccio, legally blind, have written a book that contains stories about their struggles (they call them speed bumps) and how they manage to deal with them by maintaining a sense of humor and a positive attitude. 2012.
Just Human: The Quest for Disability Wisdom, Respect, and Inclusion
by Arielle Silverman
DB 121835, available as BARD download
Born without sight, Dr. Arielle Silverman has never missed the visual. Being blind never bothered her much but, as she grew, she discovered others saw her blindness very differently. Many people saw her as either helpless or inspirational, but rarely did they see her as just human, with the same capacities and desires as her peers. Arielle has spent a lifetime exploring ways to foster respect and inclusion, not only for blind people like her, but for all of us whose bodies or minds differ from the norm. In Just Human, she reflects on her formative years and presents unique anecdotes from her life that carry teachable moments for all of us. 2024.
Magic Eyes
by Lauren Fornes
DBC 11668, available as BARD download
A kite! A plane! A Whale! Discover the magic hidden in the clouds in this uplifting children’s book that teaches us that “seeing” can take all kinds of forms. This is a special story about a little boy’s ability to see pictures in the sky that others can’t and what the power of our imagination can do. The book was inspired by the author’s son, Brick, who has cortical visual impairment (CVI), the leading and fastest-growing form of childhood blindness. Although Brick’s eyes work, his brain doesn’t understand what his eyes see, creating pockets of vision. Like in the book, he uses his imagination to fill in those gaps and make connections to the people and places around him. The wonderfully vivid and colorful watercolor illustrations are brought to life through audio description so that all may enjoy their unique beauty. Adult. Unrated. 2023.
Milo’s Eyes: How a Blind Equestrian and Her “Seeing Eye Horse” Rescued Each Other
by Lissa Bachner
DB 11064, BR 24622, available as BARD download
The extraordinary bond between Lissa Bachner, a young blind woman and Milo, a neglected, frightened horse, helped them overcome staggering odds to become one of America’s most inspiring, successful riding teams in the world of show jumping. Through countless eye surgeries and the many months of training and work, Lissa and Milo formed a magic bond that made them inseparable. And winners. With effortless humor and penetrating compassion, Lissa weaves a story of unfaltering faith in Milo, and the unconditional love they shared. 2023.
Seeing Annie Sullivan: Poems Based on Her Early Life
by Denise Bergman
DBC 4461, BRC 46, available as BARD download
Annie Sullivan escaped life in a Massachusetts almshouse to attend the Perkins School for the Blind. She later became the innovative, dedicated teacher of Helen Keller. These poems explore her early life. 2013.
Seven-Tenths: Love, Piracy, and Science at Sea
by David Fisichella
DB 71749, BR 19090, available as BARD download
David Fisichella, a mechanical engineer, chronicles a series of research cruises on which he served as the “eyes” for Amy Bower, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute oceanographer with deteriorating vision. He reflects on their experiences together, including surviving a pirate attack, and their courtship. 2010.
Sight Unseen
by Georgina Kleege
DB 48328, BR 12149, available as BARD download
Kleege was diagnosed with macular degeneration at the age of eleven and learned coping mechanisms. In eight essays she describes her experiences as well as the cultural aspects of blindness in language, film, and literature. As an author and professor, Kleege outlines the reading process and her delight in learning braille later in life. 1999.
Sometime a Clear Light: A Photographer’s Journey through Alaska, Nigeria, and Life
by Aylette Jenness
DBC 11722, available as BARD download
In Sometime a Clear Light: A Photographer’s Journey Through Alaska, Nigeria, and Life, Aylette Jenness reflects on living with her husband and two small children in a tiny Yu’pik village in Alaska in the early 1960s, as well as the time they spent in Africa from 1966 to 1969. In this memoir, Jenness, now 87, looks back at her life to find insight into the past as she is losing her physical sight due to macular degeneration. Adult. Unrated. 2023.
The Barefoot Lawyer: A Blind Man’s Fight for Justice and Freedom in China
by Guangcheng Chen
DB 81198, BR 20764, available as BARD download
Chen grew up poor and blind in rural China, becoming an activist on behalf of disability rights. He was imprisoned by the Chinese government for four years, and he and his family were under house arrest until his daring escape to the American embassy in 2012. Commercial audiobook. 2015.
The Blind Advantage: How Going Blind Made Me a Stronger Principal and How Including Children with Disabilities Made our School Better for Everyone
by William Henderson
DBC 11362, BRM 1454, available as BARD download
Long before inclusion became a professional responsibility, it was a personal struggle for Bill Henderson, a blind man and one of Boston’s most successful elementary school principals. Yet he also argues in this thoughtful volume that his physical disability has strengthened him professionally, making him more collaborative, more creative, better able to understand the needs of all his students. 2011.
The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight
by Andrew Leland
DB 115575, BR 25166, LT 34160, available as BARD download
Finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize. Andrew grew up with full vision, but starting in his teenage years, his sight began to degrade from the outside in, such that he now sees the world as if through a narrow tube. Soon-but without knowing exactly when-he will likely have no vision left. Full of apprehension but also dogged curiosity, Leland embarks on a sweeping exploration of the state of being that awaits him: not only the physical experience of blindness but also its language, politics, and customs. Part memoir, part historical and cultural investigation, The Country of the Blind represents Leland’s determination not to merely survive this transition but to grow from it-to seek out and revel in that which makes blindness enlightening. Thought-provoking and brimming with warmth and humor. 2023.
The Renegades: A Beep Ball Story
directed by Jack Clancy and Liz Clancy
DVD 1170, available as BARD download
This documentary is about the awe-inspiring sport of beep baseball where blind athletes hit baseballs and dive headlong into the bases. A fierce New York/Boston rivalry, an international world series, wrapped around highly compelling personal stories makes for a charmingly entertaining film. 2012.
Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man’s Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye Can See
by Erik Weihenmayer
DB 51505, BR 14512, available as BARD download
In this adventure-packed memoir, the author recalls rebelling against becoming blind by age fifteen. Relates acquiring a passion for mountaineering and developing the character traits that enabled him to succeed. Covers his climbing exploits and his wedding on top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Some strong language. 2001.
Undaunted by Blindness: Concise Biographies of Four Hundred People Who Refused to Let Visual Impairment Define Them
by Clifford E. Olstrom
DB 72232, BR 19185, available as BARD download
Director of the Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind presents four hundred capsule biographies of notable blind people in various occupations and from different historical periods. Includes profiles of Irish composer Torlogh Carolan (1670-1738), American publisher Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), and Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso (b. 1921). 2010.
When You Can’t Believe Your Eyes: Vision Loss and Personal Recovery
by Hannah Fairbairn
DBC 11619, available as BARD download
With a special emphasis on the challenges faced by seniors with failing vision, this highly practical how-to focuses on practical, social, and personal recovery for adults who are losing their sight. 2019.
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