On My Own: The Journey Continues

by Sally Hobart Alexander

A sequel to Taking My Journey into Blindness follows the author's graduation from a life skills course and her experiences with getting an apartment, starting a new job, returning to school, and finding love. Jr Lib Guild.

Hardcover

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[Cynde Moya]

A body trouble book. Sally lost most of her sight at age 24, and the rest of it during the course of this book. She gets an apartment by herself and starts teaching at the school for the newly where she herself trained. She frets about finding her way and looking stupid to other people, but she manages.
There are a few great observations about blindness. For example, that lack of sight separates you from objects; while lack of hearing separates you from people. She recounts a panel discussion in one of her classes, featuring people who are congenitally blind and with acquired blindness, and a lot of issues are explored in this vignette.
But the book is really about the main event, dating. How and who to date? How to avoid being a victim? She describes several different boyfriends, and is especially fond of the one who helped her identify what had been missing from her other relationships -- so many of her dates had been overgentle, and with this beast she realized she missed the vigor and lustiness of men. Fortunately, she does soon find a sighted professor who is also vigorous and lusty, and the book ends with their happy marriage.

[Kathleen Hagen]

On My Own: the Journey Continues, by Sally Hobart Alexander, narrated by Suzanne Toren, Produced by Recorded Books, downloaded from audible.com.

This book continues Sally’s transition from being sighted to becoming blind. She moves on in this book from her training in learning to function as a blind person, to her first apartment after the training, her first job, going back to school, dating, and finally finding a wonderful man to marry. This book is a realistic depiction of being blind, as I can attest because I am also blind. Sally tells her story with humor and shows us all the different views of being blind that she encounters. Suzanne Toren does an excellent job of conveying Sally’s feelings and her continued sense of humor about awkward moments. This book ended in about 1973. I’d like to know what happened after that so I hope she has written more books.

[Cws]

JF-YAAle

[Allison McReynolds]

On My Own: The Journey Continues by Sally Hobart Alexander
Book Review


As I'm looking down at this book, I wonder what drew me to the cover. I think it had to be the independence of what the picture stood for. Just one woman, on her own. What was this story, this journey, as Sally Hobart likes to call it, about? I didn't second guess myself, and I grabbed the book and checked it out. Reading the first page, I knew I had made the right choice. Right away, I was hooked. The first page was already an eye opener because the author told us she was going to lose all her sight. My stomach almost dropped because it hurt to imagine what being blind would actually be like- and now, I was going to find out.

Just a few chapters in, my heart had already broken for Sally. She conveyed her pain so primarily and upfront, so it truly felt as if we were there with her, experiencing the same things as she was. At a point, she becomes almost defeated. “I can’t do this,” (Hobart, 71). A simple statement, and yet it felt so powerful to me as I read it. I was rooting for Sally this entire time, and just as it seemed she was adapting to her new lifestyle, she crumbled for a moment. I remember just feeling so disappointed for Sally. In her story, Sally truly makes you feel connected with her. Her pain had suddenly become mine too.
I would give Sally Hobart Alexander’s testimonial story a ⅘ stars rating. The reason I wouldn't give it a perfect rating is because at times, it was hard to keep reading because the book dragged at some points. However, it's raw. Life isn't always fast paced and event filled, so having those “boring” parts of the story are okay I think, because that's what keeps the story real, and that's what I think Sally’s goal was. The four stars are for the amazing writing, syntax, and dialogue throughout the book. Like I said before, Sally made her story upfront and real. She says things aloud in the story by using dialogue to describe each action she's going through when she's alone. So basically, she talks aloud to herself in moments of triumph and struggle, and that actually made me feel like I was there on this journey with her. The writing was so powerful. I think the statement, or question, that stuck with me throughout the book was “Do you even remember the color blue?” It shook me to my core when I read it. I had never thought so deeply into what it really felt like to be blind. Some people don't even remember the faces of the ones they love the most. Sally Hobart really showed us what that would feel like and that's what makes a brilliant writer.


Alexander, Sally Hobart, and Cynde Moya. "Cynde Moya (Issaquah, WA)'s Review of On My Own: The Journey Continues." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

Alexander, Sally Hobart, and Kathleen Hagen. "Kathleen Hagen (Minneapolis, MN)'s Review of On My Own: The Journey Continues." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.