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FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE

Named one of the best books of the year by THE NEW YORKER THE WASHINGTON POST THE ATLANTIC NPR PUBLISHERS WEEKLY LITHUB

FascinatingThe great strength of this memoir is its voracious humble curiosity The Atlantic The 10 Best Books of the Year

A witty winning and revelatory personal narrative of the authors transition from sightedness to blindness and his quest to learn about blindness as a rich culture all its own

We meet Andrew Leland as hes suspended in the liminal state of the soontobe blind hes midway through his life with retinitis pigmentosa a condition that ushers those who live with it from sightedness to blindness over years even decades He grew up with full vision but starting in his teenage years his sight began to degrade from the outside in Soon but without knowing exactly whenhe will likely have no vision left

Full of apprehension but also dogged curiosity Leland embarks on a sweeping exploration of the state of being that awaits him not only the physical experience of blindness but also its language politics and customs He negotiates his changing relationships with his wife and son and with his own sense of self as he moves from his mainstream typical life to one with a disability Part memoir part historical and cultural investigation The Country of the Blind represents Lelands determination not to merely survive this transition but to grow from itto seek out and revel in that which makes blindness enlightening Brimming with warmth and humor it is an exhilarating tour of a new way of being