“I truly believe there is value in learning about blindness for everyone, because making our world more accessible benefits all its citizens, not just the few for whom it is critical,” (Rowell 11).
Blind author Maud Rowell challenges readers to rethink blindness and disability, educating readers on blind explorers, artists, scientists, and many more who have been able to make changes in the world from their perspective that people who can see are unaware of. Rowell challenges readers to acknowledge the inaccessibility of the world and how society should work to support and help everyone to create an accessible world.
I love the Inklings series. These bite-sized books always include a wealth of information in such few words and Maud Rowell’s Blind Spot is no different.
Rowell’s book is written in three sections: On visibility, On accessibility, and On culture. In the first section, she introduces readers to a variety of blind artists, explorers and creators like Amadou Bagayoko and adventurer and author Lieutenant James Holman who have been discredited and not taken seriously in their titles because of their blindness and how movies and media don’t help with creating respect and understanding to blind individuals. In On accessibility, Rowell discusses the challenges of navigating a world that tends to exclude blind people and tend to treat accessibility and blind people as a problem rather that using them as a solution to make the world more accessible. In the last section, Rowell discusses art with a great focus on Park Hwan, a visual artist who became blind and used thread, denim, and oil paint to help him continue painting.
Blind Spot is a fantastic book that challenges readers own biases to blind people and forces them to confront the inaccessibility of the world around them. Rowell does an excellent job advocating for disabled and blind people for a more accessible world, where every person is recognized as authentically themselves.
Publication: November 11 2021
Publisher: 404 Inklings
Pages: 112 pages (Paperback)
Source: Owned
Genre: Nonfiction, Disability
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
Two million people in the UK live with sight loss, and many more worldwide. Yet the general population knows very little about the day-to-day life of the blind, who must move through a world not designed with them in mind, from city planning and technology, to pop culture and education. What’s more, blind people often fall off the pages of our history books, despite being some of the most prolific figures in their fields.
In Blind Spot, Maud Rowell challenges readers to think differently about what they may take for granted, carrying them on a whirlwind tour through time and space – from Japanese tube stations to the 18th century museum – to showcase what the world looks like for someone who does not see. She offers practical insights based on her own experiences, as well as spotlighting incredible blind pioneers – explorers, artists, scientists, and more – through history and the current day, unearthed through her own research and interviews.
In educating us about the realities of sight loss, Maud shows us how to be aware of our own blind spots, offering the knowledge needed to become better, more tolerant members of diverse communities. Society needs to support everyone – it’s time we caught up.
Sarah O'Connor 