The Country of the Blind

A Memoir at the End of Sight

Andrew Leland

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Paperback

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English

Random House Large Print
29 August 2023

Diaries, letters & journals; Disability: social aspects

"We meet Andrew Leland as he's suspended in the liminal state of the soon-to-be blind- he's midway through his life with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that ushers those who live with it from sightedness to blindness over years, even decades. He 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. He negotiates his changing relationships with his wife and son, and with his own sense of self, as he moves from his mainstream, ""typical"" life to one with a disability. 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, The Country of the Blind is a deeply personal and intellectually exhilarating tour of a way of being that most of us have never paused to consider-and from which we have much to learn.

A witty, winning, and revelatory personal narrative of the author's transition from sightedness to blindness and his quest to learn about blindness as a rich culture all its own

""The Country of the Blind is about seeing-but also about marriage and family and the moral and emotional challenge of accommodating the parts of ourselves that scare us. A warm, profound, and unforgettable meditation on how we adjust to new ways of being in the world."" -Rachel Aviv, author of Strangers to Ourselves

We meet Andrew Leland as he's suspended in the liminal state of the soon-to-be blind- he's midway through his life with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that ushers those who live with it from sightedness to blindness over years, even decades. He 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. He negotiates his changing relationships with his wife and son, and with his own sense of self, as he moves from his mainstream, ""typical"" life to one with a disability. 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, The Country of the Blind is a deeply personal and intellectually exhilarating tour of a way of being that most of us have never paused to consider-and from which we have much to learn."

By: Andrew Leland
Imprint: Random House Large Print
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: Large type / large print edition
Dimensions: Height: 233mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 21mm
Weight: 442g
ISBN: 9780593793466
ISBN 10: 0593793463
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 29 August 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Andrew Leland's writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, McSweeney's, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Art in America, among other outlets. From 2013 to 2019, he hosted and produced The Organist, an arts and culture podcast, for KCRW; he has also produced pieces for Radiolab and 99% Invisible. He has been an editor at The Believer since 2003. He lives in western Massachusetts with his wife and son.

Reviews for The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight

The Country of the Blind is a wonderful and necessary book. Superbly researched and eloquently written, it is part expertly guided tour, part intensely personal story told with candor and sensitivity. It will make the journey easier for anyone facing life-altering circumstances, and it will make a positive change in the world by celebrating a community that is underrepresented and misunderstood. --Georgina Kleege, author of Sight Unseen and More Than Meets the Eye Andrew Leland has written an important and masterful book, one filled with deep thought and feeling, vulnerability and humor, and absolutely gorgeous prose. Rare is the writer who can gift the reader the kind of expansive generosity The Country of the Blind offers with ease on every page. --Chloe Cooper Jones, author of Easy Beauty The Country of the Blind is about seeing--but also about marriage and family and the moral and emotional challenge of accommodating the parts of ourselves that scare us. A warm, profound, and unforgettable meditation on how we adjust to new ways of being in the world. --Rachel Aviv, author of Strangers to Ourselves