THE BLIND MAN GAME

In this conversational memoir, a psychologist navigates a life with deteriorating vision.

As a teenager, Boskind was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a genetic condition that leads to decreased vision over time. Cataracts, diagnosed later, made it even harder for the author to move through the world like he used to do. When readers meet him at the beginning of this memoir, in 2022, he’s not only grappling with the logistics of his newly worsened disability, but also contending with grief. Knowing that his sight will continue to deteriorate as he ages, he braces himself for what’s to come by playing what he calls the “blind man game”—going about his daily activities the way that he would if his vision was completely gone. He doesn’t mask his fear and disappointment, but he also meets his uncertain future with relentless positivity: “Don’t stop. Keep moving forward. Keep dancing!” he tells himself when experiencing moments of doubt. Boskind’s affecting emotional honesty extends to other areas of his life in this remembrance, including his upbringing in a financially struggling family who wouldn’t accept it when he came out as gay. The author balances these and other sad stories with positive accounts of a supportive chosen family, financial stability (the author currently owns three homes, including an Irish castle), and friends in the U.S. government. Such a full life is difficult to contain in a single book, and readers may feel overwhelmed with information at times. The book’s organization doesn’t help, as the author often introduces important names and facts without adequate context; for example, Boskind alludes to Ireland’s Clonbrock castle multiple times before mentioning that he owns it, and he mentions knowing famous political figures long before explaining his role as a fundraiser for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Structural flaws aside, however, the positivity in this story is moving.

A remembrance that offers a comforting reminder that grief can give way to new perspectives.