Robert Kurson writes the biographical story of William May, a man who was blinded at age three in a tragic chemical accident. He remained blind for forty-two years and created a successful, happy life which included a career and family. Kurson's book details May's stem cell surgery in 1999, when at the age of forty-five he regains the ability to see. He describes May's difficulties in learning to live with sight and seeing the faces of his wife and children for the first time. The story evolves in a mysterious way.
I read this book about a year ago and had forgotten about it until my son brought up Helen Keller at dinner one night. Our family became engaged in an interesting dialogue about sight and hearing. The book became a focal point in our conversation and created many thoughts for us to ponder. We must be grateful for our senses.
In closing, I will say that the book fascinated me on many levels : 1.) The absence of one sense and the way in which people overcome this loss to live full lives 2.) The intricate and minute aspects of our vision that evolve over a lifetime; optic magic that the correction of vision may not be able to overcome. The book has remained with me and I left the reading with the an incredulous sense of awe in the power of the human body; one which we take for granted on a daily basis. I hope you will read this book and share your thoughts on an amazing human experience. Bravo to Robert Kurson for his excellent book.
No comments:
Post a Comment