Literature Without Limits: Blind Low Vision NZ Month Reads

This Blind Low Vision NZ Month, we want to celebrate the amazing writing skills of those in our communities. This curated list highlights authors who are blind or deafblind, whose work is available in the Blind Low Vision NZ Library in accessible formats. We’ve included some memoirs of those with lived experience of blindness or deafblindness that might be relatable, as well as some fictional stories to tickle your imagination.  

You can find these books and more at the Blind Low Vision NZ Library. Use the book number at the end of each summary to quickly find the book on Alexa or the EasyReader app. If you need any help, or want to request these books in another format, call our friendly Contact Centre on 0800 24 33 33.  

Memoirs

Blindingly obvious, the beautiful vision of Minnie B.

By Minnie Baragwanath
This is the moving story of a woman who, throughout her life, has refused to be defined by what others think she can or cannot do. Minnie Baragwanath was diagnosed, at the age of 15, with a congenital condition that left her legally blind. However, she did not accept the limitations that blindness might have imposed on her: instead, she dug in her heels and set about improving not only her own life but also the lives of all New Zealanders with access needs. Book number: 142574.  

Vision, a memoir of blindness and justice

By David S. Tatel
David Tatel has served nearly 30 years on America’s second highest court, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where many of America’s most crucial cases are resolved – or teed up for the Supreme Court. He has championed equal justice for his entire adult life; decided landmark environmental and voting cases; and embodied the ideal of what a great judge should be. And, he has been blind for the past 50 of his 80-plus years. Book number: 143029. 

Eavesdropping, a life by ear

By Stephen Kuusisto
The author, who has been legally blind since birth, explains how he perceives the world around him through listening. In these essays he describes childhood influences, adult travels, artful eavesdropping, and love of poetry and Caruso’s singing. Book number: 110723.  

Haben, the deafblind woman who conquered Harvard Law.

By Haben Girma
This book tells the incredible life story of Haben Girma, the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, and her amazing journey from isolation to the world stage. Through stories of travel, education, and personal growth, Haben shows how innovation, resilience, and humour helped her break barriers. Her memoir is both a compelling personal story and a powerful call for inclusion and accessibility. Book number: 131097. 

Being seen, one deafblind woman’s fight to end ableism

By Elsa Sjunneson
As a deafblind woman with partial vision in one eye and bilateral hearing aids, Elsa Sjunneson lives at the crossroads of blindness and sight, hearing and Deafness, much to the confusion of the world around her. While she cannot see well enough to operate without a guide dog or cane, she can see enough to know when someone is reacting to the visible signs of her blindness and can hear when they’re whispering behind her back. And she certainly knows how wrong our one-size-fits-all definitions of disability can be. Book number: 139584. 

Fiction

The secret diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4

By Sue Townsend
Adrian Mole is a worrier. Beset with problems familiar to anyone over the age of thirteen, Mole sends poems to the BBC, but his misfortunes still prey heavily on his mind. Book number: 049168. 

Ulysses

By James Joyce
Ulysses is the epic reconstruction of the minutiae of a single day in Dublin–June 16, 1904. It records in immense detail the events of the day as Leopold Bloom wanders through Dublin. Book number: 105156 

Fictions

By Jorge Luis Borges
A collection of seventeen short stories from renowned short story author Jorge Luis Borges. Book number: 082709. 

Discover these titles and many more with the Blind Low Vision NZ Library. If you’re not a Library member yet, signing up is simple and free, just email library@blindlowvision.org.nz or call 0800 24 33 33 to get started. We’d love to know what you think! You can also request or review books by visiting our Get it Done Online page on the Blind Low Vision NZ website or by calling 0800 24 33 33.