Now I See You

May 15, 2014
The story of a woman navigating the life-changing effects of a degenerative disease.Learning she had a disease that would eventually destroy her eyesight, leaving her permanently blind, was the last thing Kear expected to hear at the age of 19 when she went in for an eye exam. When the doctor told her she had maybe 10 years of sight left, the author pushed the thought of being blind to the back of her mind and decided to live life to the fullest. A stint in a circus school, several bit parts in plays and numerous one-night stands helped Kear avoid her reality: that her peripheral vision was gone, her line of sight restricted to a narrow tunnel, and her ability to see at night finished. Bouncing from New York City to California and back, Kear surged forward, hiding her increasing disability from her family and friends. This resulted in some hilarious and almost disastrous incidents, which she covered with a sassy sense of humor and long-sleeved shirts, pants and scarves to hide any bruises from having run into objects. Despite the difficulties of losing her eyesight, Kear fell in love, married and embarked on the oftentimes-difficult task, even for sighted people, of having children. The author narrates her story with frankness and humor as she relays humiliating moments such as crashing into the glass door at Starbucks, spilling coffee all over herself, or losing her daughter on the playground, only to discover she was right next to her the whole time. After a dozen years of fighting this losing battle, Kear finally acquiesced, accepted the inevitable and reached out for help. Her story is spunky and full of a zest for life that will open the eyes of readers to the little joys of the world.A tender memoir about love, life and going blind.

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June 1, 2014
A laugh-out-loud memoir about going blind? Yes, that's what Kear presents as she recounts how, after her sophomore year at Yale, she was diagnosed with a degenerative retinal disease and told she will lose her eyesight in just 10 to 15 more years. She worries about having kids: How could I change dirty diapers or bandage scrapes if I couldn't see? Her response is rebellious. She smokes, even though her doctor tells her it will make her vision worse. She also sleeps around (a lot), drives (badly), and avoids telling even close friends about her deteriorating vision. Eventually, she marries an understanding man (who occasionally balks at being her seeing-eye guy ) and becomes a mom. Kear is earthy and daringly frank in this never-boring, unusually illuminating account of living with diminishing sight as she, ultimately, takes a refreshingly glass-half-full approach to life. The wonderful thing about going blind is that along with the beautiful sights, you miss unattractive ones, too. You won't see your crow's feet. Funny and poignant.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)