Now I See You: A Memoir

"At nineteen years old, Nicole C. Kear's biggest concern is choosing a major--until she walks into a doctor's office in midtown Manhattan and gets a life-changing diagnosis. She is going blind, courtesy of an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, and has only a decade or so before Lights Out. Instead of making preparations as the doctor suggests, Kear decides to carpe diem and make the most of the vision she has left. She joins circus school, tears through boyfriends, travels the world, and through all these hi-jinks, she keeps her vision loss a secret. When Kear becomes a mother, just a few years shy of her vision's expiration date, she amends her carpe diem strategy, giving up recklessness in order to relish every moment with her kids. Her secret, though, is harder to surrender - and as her vision deteriorates, harder to keep hidden. As her world grows blurred, one thing becomes clear: no matter how hard she fights, she won't win the battle against blindness. But if she comes clean with her secret, and comes to terms with the loss, she can still win her happy ending. Told with humor and irreverence, Now I See You is an uplifting story about refusing to cower at life's curveballs, about the power of love to triumph over fear. But, at its core, it's a story about acceptance: facing the truths that just won't go away, and facing yourself, broken parts and all. "--

"When Nicole C. Kear was nineteen years old, she walked into an eye doctor's office for what she thought was a routine appointment and was given a life-changing diagnosis. She was going blind, courtesy of a disease called retinitis pigmentosa and she had a decade or so before lights-out. To cope, she decides to hide her disease and live like there's no tomorrow. With her future looking much different than she had planned, she delivers on her vow to carpe diem --she tears through boyfriends, joins a circus school, and travels all over. But when she falls in love and gets pregnant just a few years shy of her vision's expiration date, she abandons her reckless ways in order to become the best mother she can be. Her secret is harder to give up but, as her eyesight deteriorates, it becomes harder and harder to keep hidden. As the aperture of her vision closes, she's forced into a painful reckoning. No matter how she rages, she will lose the battle against blindness. But if she comes clean, and comes to terms with the bad news she's been running from, she can still win her happy ending. Now I See You is a story about refusing to cower at life's curveballs, a story about how sometimes glory and freedom is found in the surrender and not in the fight. And it's a story about acceptance - facing the truths that just won't go away and facing yourself, flaws and all"--