blinded in an accident as a young child and used his enhanced senses as a way to make a difference in France. The book spends a lot of time sharing what it was like to go from being a seeing person, to one who suddenly can not see. And the way he and his family approached his adapting to the world around him.
Many have heard that the blind have enhanced senses, but the way it is described by the author, Jacques Lusseyran, he came to be able to 'see' people if he allowed his senses to work in a different way. He explained how many who go blind are trying to see as they used to, and he was able to make this shift to see in a different way. He could feel pressure from trees or the room around him, hear things, sense things in the people he met. It was a very fascinating part of the book.
As we had just read a WWII book we were initially a little worried that this could be overbearing, but the book focuses less on his stint in a camp for prisoners of war, and more on how the resistance used his talents until he was captured. He heard a lot, understood a lot because of his sharp senses, but also because of his intelligence with languages and memory.
It was a beautiful account of someone who has been through a lot, but also had a really positive attitude about the cards he's been given. He found joy and happiness in his life, he found ways to fit in to the regular world, he was blessed with good friends and a loving family and shared his perspective in a way that uplifts. Our group had a wonderful discussion about his experience, perspective, and attitude.
"Two truths: the first of these is that joy does not come from outside, for whatever happens to us it is within. The second truth is that light does not come to us from without. Light is in us, even if we have no eyes."
Jacques Lusseyran-And There Was Light
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