THE LIGHTED HEART

This account of blindness is a testament to patience, courage, willingness -- and love, for although ""Bill's"" eye troubles had always been a part of their marriage neither he nor the author were prepared when his sight began to go. The work and travel they enjoyed gave way to the settling down they had planned for the future and the old New England house was found, renovated and lived in before the operation -- that could not save him from total blindness. Determined to build on what remained, they compassed the practical things they had to learn, found new adventures in his handicap, and were surprised by new values and new self-confidence. The simple things that made a total of daily living, braille and talking books, the cooking and bartering , the way in which the fields, woods, chickens and dogs helped financially, the dividends that a piece of lake front brought, and the friendliness of their small community -- these are the background for ""Bill's"" career in agency services for the blind, for the strength he was able to give others, for the new abilities and abundant selflessness that he developed. A book of comfort for those afflicted and for those around them, this is also a continuing calendar of country living in grateful terms.