Cockeyed - A memoir of going blind

One of the things I've been up to here at my island retreat is setting up a network for youth with Ushers Syndrome.

Ushers Syndrome involves a combination of vision and hearing loss and effects roughly 4 out of 100 000 people. There are 3 primary different types of Ushers, varying in severity and speed of onset, and because the condition is so rare medical professionals often do not diagnose it properly, meaning people spend a large chunk of their lives not ever knowing that they have it.

I was born with Ushers Syndrome Type II, which involves a progressive vision loss throughout life combined with a stable, moderate-to-severe hearing loss.

My friend Carrie, who also has Ushers Syndrome, recently recommended a book called Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton.

The authour was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (progressive vision loss) at the age of 18, and Cockeyed is his memoir of going blind while trying to grow up and do all of the things that we're supposed to do as we grow up.

It's a well written book, and I'd recommend reading it to anyone looking to understand a bit more about blindness or even just an entertaining summer read. The majority of the book consists of anecdotes, stories about the mishaps he's found himself in, and it's told with a delicious, wry sense of humour that found me chuckling to myself on the bus more than a few times.

I'd also recommend it to anyone in the early stages of vision loss, as it pointed out a few things that I hadn't thought of previously and gives a good look at the types of challenges we can expect to face down the road.