What Every Blind Person Needs YOU To Know

by Leanne Hunt

Written by someone who has walked the path of deteriorating eyesight and worked as a qualified crisis counsellor, this handbook contains a wealth of insight into the physical, emotional and psychological challenges facing those with a disability. Its contents include:

◾️ Common attitudes towards blindness
◾️ Manifestations of difficulty
◾️ Reasons for resistance
◾️ Some tips on encouraging independence
◾️ Signs of progress
◾️ The value of community
◾️ The temptation to cop out
◾️ Knowing when you've done enough

Genres: Nonfiction

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 16, 2016

About the author

Leanne Hunt is a South African author who values honest communication and learning. She developed juvenile macular degeneration—a retinal eye disease—in her early teens and has made living with sight loss part of her life story. Her interest in personal growth drew her towards Christianity early on, and has led to study and research in the areas of counselling, spirituality, psychology and theology. Her hobbies include knitting, song writing, singing and reading. She is married with two grown-up daughters who live overseas.

Reviews

[Lois Strachan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical and useful resource for anyone who knows a visually impaired person struggling to achieve independence. Leanne Hunt's personal story, which she shares with us, is both engaging and inspiring. Though it is important to remember that each of us is unique in the way we respond to losing our sight, (The first thing I did after being declared blind was to join a rock band as keyboardist and vocalist), I believe this book offers valuable insights on how to assist a less independent person living with a visual impairment to move forwards with their life.

[Keryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not simply a guideline, but rather a sensitive and practical approach presented as a memoir of the author’s own personal journey towards independence. Since Leanne’s loss of sight began while she was as a school-going teenager, I would encourage relatives and friends of young adults who are blind or partially sighted to read this book, in order to avoid some of the pitfalls earlier rather than later. It is a refreshingly easy-to-read helping hand in tackling a subject we tend to avoid, as we simply do not know what to do. Yet there is much we can do. She writes in the chapter ‘Courage in Action’: “Years of telling myself not to want too much and trying to convince myself that limiting my lifestyle was the best way to live had constructed a complicated set of arguments in my head which had very little to do with reality and a whole lot to do with contrivance.” Bravo, for an honest and riveting read.

[Joni Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually find it a joy to review books I win from Goodreads (as I did this one). However, "What Every Blind Person Needs You To Know" struck quite close to home. I see the mistakes I made when my youngest brother became blind as an adult. The two parts of the book that were very meaningful to me in that regard were about Community, and about dreams. I never asked my brother about his dreams; I simply assumed his dreams revolved around making it through each day...big mistake, according to the book. And, I never tried to involve him in any communities that may have interested him...I believed I was doing good things for him because I took him to the movies and explained things he might not have seen...or took him to the Renaissance Faire and described what went on around us....those kinds of things. I see from this book that these things were not nearly enough. I really wish I had had this book back then...I would have done things differently, for sure.

[AnitaNorris-Rogers]

This book provides valuable insight into the world of the visually impaired or blind person and covers emotional and psychological aspects to blindness. Having a visually impaired or blind family member or friend the reader will find helpful information for relationship building and practical tips to assist where your blind family member needs help. Every human being, -being blind or being fully sighted -has the desire to reach their dream and live life to the full and this book is an inspiration to live with hope and see potential realised.

[bryan dyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Painful is how I would describe this book.

I am dating a women with visual impairment and I can't relate anything of her to the author. She has an incredible victim mentally with a focus on spirituality as a way of employing her own power. I was excited to read this book but at the end of it, I recognized that not every story is the same and this story is one of victimhood with little optimism for the future.