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Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'
The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew Leland
2 reviews
ellieswilliams's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Chronic illness
yourbookishbff's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Chronic illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Sexual assault
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