Adventures in Darkness

October 16, 2006
Sullivan, blind from birth, learned a lot at the Perkins School for the Blind. But as his 12th birthday approached, he desperately wanted to break out of his sheltered environment and live like other kids. His father, a hard-drinking Irish bookmaker and tavern owner, understood the boy's need to prove himself. So during the summer of 1959 he pushed his son to attempt the impossible—pitching in a Little League game, boxing the neighborhood bully—while Tommy took risks that appalled even his dad. Sullivan, an actor, musician and motivational speaker, knows how to spin a captivating yarn, and his can-do enthusiasm leaps off the page as he writes of "the unlimited capacity of the human imagination." Readers may wonder, however, if his talent for storytelling exceeds his recall: are there too many hair-raising but ultimately successful adventures for one short summer? Though an inspiring motivational book, especially for young readers, this is not remotely about "Tom's reliance upon God," as Nelson's marketing copy indicates. Sullivan learns to have faith in himself, not God, and the few lines of God talk in the last chapter and the epilogue sound like an afterthought.