Raised in Paris and blinded at the age of eight, Lusseyran teaches the listener about being blind and seeing the light of the world, the light from...
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Dec 16, 2008
Carolyn
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An astonishing book. I was so moved by this man's life that I researched until I found someone who knew him to ask what it was like to be around him. I was told that when one met Jacques Lusseyran they felt they were being fully seen...for the first time...maybe the only time in their life.
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Jan 01, 2012
Becky
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What an amazing book. This is every bit as inspiring and significant as Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning. I truly believe in the force of light as described in this book. I have felt the present of objects around me as the author describes. I do know that joy come from searching for the light which then becomes you or which as he states is already a part of you. I know that there is light within you that recognizes the light of others. I have felt it. It is the basis of the
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Oct 05, 2010
Karina
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I decided to give this book a 5 star because of the wow factor his life was, rather than because it is a page turner or exceptionally well written.
It took me almost 2 weeks to read...unheard of for me. However, to appreciate what he is trying to get across to you, you have to take it slow and soak it up. The beginning of the book is the hardest/slowest to get through as he talks about adjusting and living with no 'sight', a truly foreign thought for u. One that even the best imagina More...
It took me almost 2 weeks to read...unheard of for me. However, to appreciate what he is trying to get across to you, you have to take it slow and soak it up. The beginning of the book is the hardest/slowest to get through as he talks about adjusting and living with no 'sight', a truly foreign thought for u. One that even the best imagina More...
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Feb 09, 2011
I haven't finished this yet for our book group this month, but I am really not getting into it any more. At first I really loved it-- I thought it was fascinating how he "saw" the world as a blind child, and his attitude about his blindness. I didn't mind the cultural differences so much-- even though I don't always agree with his interpretations. I am pretty lenient about whether I consider a book really good or not-- I tend to try and look at most of the positives about a book, even
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Oct 08, 2011
Michael
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A fascinating autobiography. The author was in an accident at school that left him blind shortly before his eighth birthday. In many ways he was able to see more once he was blind than before, provided he was free from feelings of fear or selfishness.
"Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Chri More...
"Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Chri More...
Jul 31, 2010
Sara
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I really enjoyed this book and found the story to be amazing and inspiring, especially because it was a true story. The writing kept the book from being five stars though. The writing was very thick and at times the story was slow. Also, it wasn't a story in the traditional sense of opening, rising action, climax, because it is an autobiography, so the pacing was slow. Despite this I enjoyed reading it and am glad that I finished the book to the end because this man's life (actually it's just hi
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Nov 08, 2009
Nikki
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This is a fascinating account of one of the leaders of the resistance during the Nazi invasion of France. What makes this account interesting is that he is a blind man. His writing is beautiful and by the end of the book you feel like you're really 'in his head'. This book gave me a true sense of what it would be like to be blind. The middle of the book is a little slow...more detail than is necessary. And it feels a little anti-climatic because you've read most of the book before he actual
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Aug 24, 2009
Linda
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I got this book from the library after reading Lusseyran's book mentioned by Inger Naess in "Colour Energy." It is simple to think about color when you can see, but Jacques Lusseyran lost his sight at 8 years old. He became attuned to his other senses. He developed inner sight, and could connect to the world with his body. His fingers were "alive." He was the principal writer of the French resistance newspaper "Defense de la France" during WWII, until his capture, w
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Jan 27, 2009
Leah
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It is now 2009, and I just finished reading this book that I started in the Fall. It was such a fabulous book that I really wanted to go through it slowly and get as much in of Jacques' world and understanding as I could. Of course, I will read this book again and learn new things, but he was an incredible person. I learned the importance of how and why we need to be educated; I learned why physical exercise is important - it changed my current perception of it; I was inspired overall by Jacq
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Dec 17, 2009
Betsy
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Interesting look at WWII through the eyes of a blind teenager who started one of the major resistance organizations in france.
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Nov 15, 2010
Holly
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I had a really hard time getting into this book. It seemed so bogged down to me by tangents in thinking, and I kept waiting for the story to begin. I felt that if I had started halfway through it would have made for just as good a read. Although friends who listened to it said they did not find it to be that way at all. So, maybe I just had a distracted reading voice in my head. . . It was hard for me to understand what exactly was going on--what the resistance movement was all about, and hone
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Jan 22, 2012
Darcy
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What I loved most about this book was Jacques's powerful testimony of God through his whole life. He was always grateful & respectful of God's influence in his life.
Next, I loved getting the perspective from an occupied country during WWII. It was good to understand what life was like for those countries taken over by Germany & Hitler's reign.
Additionally, Lusseyran gave such a vivid account of blindness that you almost want the opportunity to be blind to experience life with the i More...
Next, I loved getting the perspective from an occupied country during WWII. It was good to understand what life was like for those countries taken over by Germany & Hitler's reign.
Additionally, Lusseyran gave such a vivid account of blindness that you almost want the opportunity to be blind to experience life with the i More...
Sep 22, 2010
Camille
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It put me in touch with my inner light. It reminded me of the strength of the human spirit despite all of life's horrors. Anyone who has Corrie Ten Boom as part of his or her life will not feel complete without including Jacques. Imagine Corrie, only blind, and leading a resistance movement against the Nazi's, and you will have an idea of who Jacques Lusseyran is. However, putting aside the war, the concentration camps, and all other outside forces in life and the man here stands alone as a
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Aug 05, 2011
Holly
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Jacques is probably the most interesting person I've ever read about. What I wouldn't give to read a good biography on him. This is his autobiography about the first 21 years of his life. Because he is blind, his world view is different-- he details his inner landscape and leaves me wondering about the exterior. At times the information deserved a 5 rating... It gets a three because at times it was a bit slow, and as a seeing person, it is hard for me to stay in his inner landscape for so lon
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Apr 06, 2010
Nancy
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Simply fascinating!!! This man considered his blindness to be a real blessing in his life. He was able to find an inner light and peace within himself that few men seem to achieve in this life. He even found an inner joy and peace during his time at Buchenwald, a German concentration camp, during WWII. He is frank, honest and open about his experiences without being sentimental. I have never read a man bare his soul so confidently and intimately as this man did. His perceptions of life cau
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Aug 16, 2011
Michele
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So philosphical, wow! This man had an incredible mind. He was truly brillant.
He kept talking about people had a moral smell to them. I couldn't stop thinking what it would be like to stand in front of him. Would it be like meeting God? I think it would be terrifying but also fascinating.
He is remarkable. Being blind, he becomes a type of human polygraph, and helps the Resistance movement by interviewing possible candidates and he is able to tell the sincere from the impostors. Th More...
He kept talking about people had a moral smell to them. I couldn't stop thinking what it would be like to stand in front of him. Would it be like meeting God? I think it would be terrifying but also fascinating.
He is remarkable. Being blind, he becomes a type of human polygraph, and helps the Resistance movement by interviewing possible candidates and he is able to tell the sincere from the impostors. Th More...
Nov 30, 2010
Courtney
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This is written by a French man born in the 1930's who went blind as a child after an accident. Because this book is in his own words, the first quarter of the book is interesting, but seems to drag a little. I liked hearing his new perspective and how he saw light all the time whenever he was happy and how the light vanished when he was scared...but just when it became a little tedious and I considered skimming, the rest of the story took hold.
It is a phenomenal account of this blin More...
It is a phenomenal account of this blin More...
Sep 26, 2008
Joshua
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He became totally blind in a school accident at the age of 7. He soon learned to adapt to being blind and maintained many close friendships, particularly with one boy named Jean. The Germans invaded France in 1940. In the spring of 1941, Lusseyran formed a Resistance group called the Volunteers of Liberty with 52 other boys. He was put in charge of recruitment. The group later merged with another Resistance group called Défense de la France. In July 1943 he organized and participated in a campa
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Jul 26, 2010
K.
rated it:
Re-reading July 2010. Would go great with the study of the Arbinger books. Amazing man.
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Finished today (15 July 2010).
Loved this book the second time around perhaps even more than my first. I think I had more relevant thoughts in my head this time.
During the beginning I was amused by what I see as one of the differences between French culture and American. I'm not making a judgement on better or worse, just noticing differences. They are so very muc More...
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Finished today (15 July 2010).
Loved this book the second time around perhaps even more than my first. I think I had more relevant thoughts in my head this time.
During the beginning I was amused by what I see as one of the differences between French culture and American. I'm not making a judgement on better or worse, just noticing differences. They are so very muc More...
Nov 18, 2008
Tia
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This book was another one of those amazing stories of an individual overcoming obstacles and finding through the light of Christ the will to go on even in some of the most horrible situations that humans have ever placed each other in. Specifically, the German concentration camps of WWII. Some of the most amazing and inspirational spiritual stories have come from this time, such as this book, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, and Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Because Lusseyran
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Sep 04, 2009
Alysia
rated it:
Wow. This book is unique - I doubt there is another story quite like it.
There are really three amazing stories in one:
One is the story of a completely physically blind man who nevertheless sees beauty and detail, light and darkness, in a way that is unexplainable scientifically, yet those who have 'seen' with spiritual eyes can relate to, to a degree. Jacques Lusseyran describes the world and the intracacies of humanity in such an incredible way that it makes the reader wond More...
There are really three amazing stories in one:
One is the story of a completely physically blind man who nevertheless sees beauty and detail, light and darkness, in a way that is unexplainable scientifically, yet those who have 'seen' with spiritual eyes can relate to, to a degree. Jacques Lusseyran describes the world and the intracacies of humanity in such an incredible way that it makes the reader wond More...
Sep 30, 2010
Jen
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Jim Ferrell came to our neighborhood book club years ago when we were reading his book, "The Peacegiver." He mentioned that this book was one of his all time favorites. I found it at the library and checked it out. It was an intriguing story, not only about an important member of the French Resistance during WWII, but about a man who learns to see in spite of his physical blindness. Some parts were a bit slow (or I have a short attention span) but the overall lesson of this book is
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Dec 02, 2008
Andrea
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While the story of what this man was able to accomplish (blind leader of the French Resistance during WWII at the age of 15) is amazing, and what he had to endure astonishing (German concentration camp), his writing came across as egotistical and annoying. That being said, this book is worth reading. I learned more about the German occupation of Paris during the war than I'd known before. If you do read this book, you can skim the pages and pages of his yawn-inducing childhood memories (excep
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Jul 01, 2011
Tommy
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Interesting book about a blind person never letting their lack of sight affect their life. Lusseyran was a french resistance fighter/organizer during WWII who was eventually betrayed and sent to a concentration camp. He survived all of it. He has a very mystical view of life, religion and his lack of sight. This is worth reading although it definitely left me wishing they'd added a forward with more about his post war life. The book certainly left me wanting to know more about Lusseyran.
Nov 26, 2010
Amy Beth
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Lusseyran talks about the amazing experience of finding/feeling interior light for himself and exterior things after he became blind. He sees the world as endowed with light and color not dependent on visuals; they possess light. He has the ability to clearly judge people and an aptitude for getting around barriers just by sensing them. This book is almost unbearingly romantic at times. Then at the end I realized that Lusseyran survived the concentration camp because of this attitude. He cho
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May 07, 2011
Jim
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This true story is told by its author, who was accidentally blinded at an early age. He was fortunatly blessed with very strong willed, well educated parents, who loved him tremendously. When the Nazi war machine invaded France, Jacques and his closest friends formed a network of 600 young men, to fight back with a Free newspaper. They were eventually apprehended and sent to Nazi Germany concentration camps for thier part in the Resistance Movement. Jacques never gave up hope, he kept his joy, h
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Dec 12, 2009
Erin
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This is one of those books that has the potential to be life-changing. Not only is Lusseyran just a small boy when he forms and leads one of the greatest underground resistance movements in France during WWII, he is blind. It is because of his blindness that he is so successful, he knows how to read people, to sense them and their intentions. He can "see" the light they give off, or radiate and it speaks to their character and their soul. Fascinating book about the beauty of childhood
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Aug 13, 2010
Kristina
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Mar 03, 2009
Carol
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This is one of my all time favorite books. It is two stories...of a a young man who is blinded in an accident during gradeschool and the amazing way he begins to perceive the world, and, then during the Vichy regime he is an active member of the resistance, memorizing 100's of contacts and 'knowing' other resistance fighters until he is betrayed near the end of the war...a true and amazing story by an incredible soul.
Jan 21, 2010
Rachael
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This is the most incredible and insightful book I have ever read. Mr. Lusseyran is so optimistic and hopeful despite the huge obstacles he faces. He describes blindness in a way that makes you want to be blind. It takes time to read because he is so indepth, but it is worth every word. He was truly an example of a life full of joy, hope, and love for mankind. Definitely one of my all time favorite books.
