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mcoenraad's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
barefootmegz's review
4.0
My dad has Retinitis Pigmentosa - the same as John Samuel - and just like the author, his disability played a massive role in his life story. Because I am so familiar with the struggles my dad faced, it was hard to read Samuel’s words without being overwhelmed by emotion.
I found this memoir - it reads like a memoir, at least - to be a good reflection of what visually impaired persons deal with daily. I enjoy that the author is able to recognise those areas where he has privilege, and those areas where he can help others. Although his initial refusal to accept/face his disability is infuriating, I was relieved to see him growing into eventual acceptance.
While the book is readable, and one I will encourage others to read, I have some gripes. One is that it is unclear whether this is meant to be memoir, or motivational reading. One might think those two can (and do) overlap, but I find that books are more successful when they lean more firmly towards one or the other, rather than attempting to straddle both. When a memoir leans too much toward the motivational kind of genre, it can become biased towards positive experiences, and it becomes more difficult to “trust” the author.
Second, I think the title of the book is tongue-in-cheek, and probably has an element of an inside joke - but it doesn’t quite show itself in the work, and it makes for a sense of disjointedness. Likewise, the tagline, referring to “a 30,000-mile journey” - while distance and travel are not really thematically emphasised throughout the narrative in such a way that the content streamlines with the tag.
Lastly, while I think the use of facts is critical in a book about disability and accessibility, it would have worked better for the author to share the facts in his own words, rather than to extract quotes from published statistical reports.
All that said, this remains a book I will recommend to persons both seeing, and not.
Thank you to Baron Publishing and Netgalley for the eARC, in exchange for an honest review.
I found this memoir - it reads like a memoir, at least - to be a good reflection of what visually impaired persons deal with daily. I enjoy that the author is able to recognise those areas where he has privilege, and those areas where he can help others. Although his initial refusal to accept/face his disability is infuriating, I was relieved to see him growing into eventual acceptance.
While the book is readable, and one I will encourage others to read, I have some gripes. One is that it is unclear whether this is meant to be memoir, or motivational reading. One might think those two can (and do) overlap, but I find that books are more successful when they lean more firmly towards one or the other, rather than attempting to straddle both. When a memoir leans too much toward the motivational kind of genre, it can become biased towards positive experiences, and it becomes more difficult to “trust” the author.
Second, I think the title of the book is tongue-in-cheek, and probably has an element of an inside joke - but it doesn’t quite show itself in the work, and it makes for a sense of disjointedness. Likewise, the tagline, referring to “a 30,000-mile journey” - while distance and travel are not really thematically emphasised throughout the narrative in such a way that the content streamlines with the tag.
Lastly, while I think the use of facts is critical in a book about disability and accessibility, it would have worked better for the author to share the facts in his own words, rather than to extract quotes from published statistical reports.
All that said, this remains a book I will recommend to persons both seeing, and not.
Thank you to Baron Publishing and Netgalley for the eARC, in exchange for an honest review.
dogearedandfurry's review
4.0
Excellent story of a man finding his way in a world not often designed for those with disabilities. It’s an easy, conversational writing style and a fairly short read, so I found I raced through it quickly, frequently inspired by Samuels’ drive and work ethic. Highly recommend reading to gain an understanding how how life can be for those with disabilities, and how we can be better allies.
p0ppyfield's review
4.0
3.5. This a memoir, but it really excels in being a critique and reflection of society’s treatment of disabled people. It excels in being a case study for the importance of accessibility and an accessible world.
I saw a similar review to mine state that they preferred this side of it, to the authors life achievements, and I do have to agree.
It’s so amazing to see other disabled people thriving, but often those thriving are, sadly, the exception in this current world. It’s also hard for us to thrive without becoming inspo p**n.
There’s also a side of it where, I know we work 1000x harder than non-disabled people to get anywhere, so celebrate the wins, fair enough!
Ultimately, I most related to the long journey of slowly identifying as being disabled, slowly coming into your needs. Struggling as a child. It also helped me connect with my blind partner, who has a similar childhood.
Sharing your story in a raw and humorous way is commendable. Easy and quick to read.
Thank you NetGalley for this copy
I saw a similar review to mine state that they preferred this side of it, to the authors life achievements, and I do have to agree.
It’s so amazing to see other disabled people thriving, but often those thriving are, sadly, the exception in this current world. It’s also hard for us to thrive without becoming inspo p**n.
There’s also a side of it where, I know we work 1000x harder than non-disabled people to get anywhere, so celebrate the wins, fair enough!
Ultimately, I most related to the long journey of slowly identifying as being disabled, slowly coming into your needs. Struggling as a child. It also helped me connect with my blind partner, who has a similar childhood.
Sharing your story in a raw and humorous way is commendable. Easy and quick to read.
Thank you NetGalley for this copy
reallife_kazbrekker's review
informative
fast-paced
3.0
Very informative and not too heavy of a read for being a memoir.
I liked the heavy focus towards some of the later chapters in the book about being unemployed and disabled. As an unemployed disabled person I really appreciated that.
Don't have the energy right now to write a longer review, so yeah I recommend it as a short memoir by a blind person!
I liked the heavy focus towards some of the later chapters in the book about being unemployed and disabled. As an unemployed disabled person I really appreciated that.
Don't have the energy right now to write a longer review, so yeah I recommend it as a short memoir by a blind person!
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