Notes on Blindness
A journey through the dark
Published on 9. February 2017
978-1-78283-361-1 (ISBN)
Description
A rediscovered modern classic: a life-affirming account of one man's journey into blindness
'A gift to the whole of humanity' Cathy Rentzenbrink
Days before the birth of his first son, writer and academic John M. Hull started to go blind. He would lose his sight entirely, unable to distinguish any sense of light or shadow. Isolated and claustrophobic, he sank into a deep depression. Soon, he had forgotten what his wife and daughter looked like.
In Notes on Blindness, John reveals his profound sense of loss, his altered perceptions of time and space, of waking and sleeping, love and companionship. With astonishing lucidity of thought and no self-pity, he describes the horror of being faceless, and asks what it truly means to be a husband and father. And eventually, he finds a new way of experiencing the world, of seeing the light.
Based on John's diaries recorded on audio tape, this is a profoundly moving, wise and life-affirming account of one man's journey into blindness.
'Poignant and wise' Andrew Solomon
Published in partnership with Wellcome Collection.
'A gift to the whole of humanity' Cathy Rentzenbrink
Days before the birth of his first son, writer and academic John M. Hull started to go blind. He would lose his sight entirely, unable to distinguish any sense of light or shadow. Isolated and claustrophobic, he sank into a deep depression. Soon, he had forgotten what his wife and daughter looked like.
In Notes on Blindness, John reveals his profound sense of loss, his altered perceptions of time and space, of waking and sleeping, love and companionship. With astonishing lucidity of thought and no self-pity, he describes the horror of being faceless, and asks what it truly means to be a husband and father. And eventually, he finds a new way of experiencing the world, of seeing the light.
Based on John's diaries recorded on audio tape, this is a profoundly moving, wise and life-affirming account of one man's journey into blindness.
'Poignant and wise' Andrew Solomon
Published in partnership with Wellcome Collection.
Reviews / Votes
There is wisdom on every page... a gift to the whole of humanity -- Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of 'The Last Act of Love' The incisiveness of Hull's observation, the beauty of his language, make this book poetry; the depth of his reflection turns it into phenomenology or philosophy -- Oliver Sacks He lets us see with no trace of self-pity or self-praise how blindness has become for him a genuine acquisition, an unforeseeably rich gift that has made of him what so few of us are: excellent watchers and hearers of the world ... triumphant in the teeth of ruin. -- Reynolds Price Beautiful. -- Melanie Reid * The Times * This is a courageous book about the ability of the human mind and soul to reorganize around changed sources of information. In losing his sight, John Hull learned how much he had loved seeing, and how much he could love other means of interacting with the world. His poignant and wise description of his rebirth as a blind man is thrilling and disturbing, written in incandescent prose, and demonstrates an exhilarating passion for life itself. -- Andrew Solomon Full of the richness of our experience on the planet ... Hull records his daunting and dark, enlightening and different world with an awareness that leaves you reeling - and the better for it. -- Kerry Fowler * Sainsburys magazine * Praise for the documentary: 'Articulate, eloquent and soul searching -- Mark Kermode Magnificent * New York Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Reflowable
ISBN-13
978-1-78283-361-1 (9781782833611)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
02/2017
Wellcome Collection
€13.00
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Persons
John Hull was Professor of Religious Education at the University of Birmingham. He died in July 2015.
