Like many others who can’t see print, I am
still a voracious reader. This past week, I have had my nose in a book, if not
literally, then figuratively at least.
All of my reading is done with audio books. I have a fairly broad range
of interests from historical fiction to mystery and adventure and well-told
biographies and autobiographies. On occasion, I will also listen to a book on
the subject of blindness and vision loss.
People who are blind or who have
encountered other special circumstances in their lives often want to share
their experiences with others and the printed word is a good medium. I know this because, wouldn’t you know it; I
am one of those people myself. However,
as a general rule of thumb I am fairly cautious about books written by blind
authors. Not everyone who is blind or visually impaired can write well although
there are definitely exceptions to the rule. This past week I enjoyed two books
where the focus was on blindness and vision impairment.
The first book was Keep In Touch by
Graeme Edwards. Edwards was a journalist in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He worked
first with newspapers and then in sound broadcasting. I found the book
fascinating in two respects. The advances in technology over the past half
century have been mind boggling to say the least. As I listened to Edwards’
first hand account of radio broadcasting, using a cassette player to tape
interviews, splicing and editing tapes, I realized anew how computers and the
digital age have radically improved daily life for people who are blind or who
are otherwise print disabled.
While this aspect of life for a person with
sight challenges has seen dramatic change, Edwards also referred to areas that
have changed little. Using first person narrative, he wrote about the tendency
of parents to be over protective of him as a blind child, his struggle for
independence, the differing attitudes of the general public as he moved about
in social circles and on public transport, the reaction of prospective
employers when he outlined his qualifications as a journalist and radio
broadcaster. I found the approach of this author to be practical and realistic
and in spite of the fifty-year time gap I was able to identify with many of his
thoughts and opinions.
The second book was No End In Sight: My
Life As A Blind Iditarod Racer by Rachel Scdoris and Rick Steber. The book
is a collaboration. Although at times I found the stories of the sled dog races
themselves to be a bit repetitive, the descriptions of the conditioning and
skills required by athletes who compete in the sport were fascinating. Scdoris tells
of the bias and prejudice she encountered as a young, female, visually impaired
musher. In particular she writes about her uphill battle with Iditarod race officials
when she applied to compete in the Iditarod, an international 1100 mile sled dog
race held in Alaska. Scdoris was legally
blind and so wanted to have a visual interpreter accompany her on a snowmobile.
Race officials saw this special accommodation as bending the race rules and
initially denied her request.
I learned a lot about sled dog racing, but
for me the best part of the book was in Chapter 2 when Scdoris describes her
sight. Scdoris is legally blind but not
completely without sight. She does an excellent job of describing how she sees
as someone who is visually impaired. I was especially interested in her
descriptions because personally I often find it difficult to explain to others
just what it is that I see and what I am unable to see. When I finished reading
No End In Sight, I checked out Rachel Scdoris on her website.
Both Keep In Touch and No End In
Sight are available through the CNIB
Library Services.
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