Calendars and Clocks Book Club

Our July book, in connection with Disability Pride Month, is The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew Leland

Andrew Leland has written a witty, winning, and revelatory personal narrative of his transition from sightedness to blindness and his quest to learn all he can about blindness as a distinct and rich culture all its own.

We meet Andrew Leland as he's suspended in the strange 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 complete sightedness to complete blindness over a period of 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.

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. His story reveals essential lessons for all of us, from accepting uncertainty and embracing change to connecting with others across difference. Thought-provoking and brimming with warmth and humor, The Country of the Blind is at once a deeply personal journey and an 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.

We hope you'll join us to discuss the book if you're available; books are available for pick-up upon request to third-floor MLK staff within a month of the program date.

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