Andrew Leland reads from his witty and revelatory memoir about losing his sight and his quest to learn about the rich culture of blindness.

Andrew is midway through his life with an inherited eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa, suspended in the liminal state of the soon-to-be blind. He grew up with full vision but, starting in his teenage years, his sight began to degrade from the outside in, such that he now sees the world as if through a narrow tube. Soon, but without knowing exactly when, he will likely have no vision left.

Full of apprehension but also dogged curiosity, Andrew embarks on a sweeping exploration of the state of being that awaits him. He negotiates his changing relationships with his wife and son, and with his own sense of self, as he moves from his mainstream, ‘normal’ life to one with a disability. Andrew is determined not to merely survive this transition but to grow from it - to seek out and revel in that which makes blindness enlightening.

Thought-provoking and brimming with warmth and humour, The Country of the Blind is a deeply personal and intellectually exhilarating tour of a way of being that most of us have never paused to consider, and from which we have much to learn.

In this first episode, Andrew describes how he first realised his sight was deteriorating as a teenager, and how he began to come to terms with his eventual diagnosis.

Andrew Leland’s writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker and The San Francisco Chronicle. He has hosted and produced The Organist, an arts and culture podcast, and has been an editor at The Believer magazine since 2003. He lives in western Massachusetts with his wife and son.

Reader: Andrew Leland
Abridger: Ellin Stein
Producer: Jane Greenwood
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