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Light A Single Candle
(Cathy Wheeler #1)
by
When Cathy lost her sight at the age of 14, she faced a very different way of life, where her other senses had to take over the work of her eyes. Adjusting to blindness was often easier than handling the reactions of people. One friend who now avoided her her. Another smothered her with too much kindness. Then came the thrill of independence after completing a tough traini
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Mass Market, 217 pages
Published
January 1st 1970
by Simon and Schuster (Pocket Books)
(first published 1962)
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Showing 1-30
Start your review of Light A Single Candle
Oct 18, 2014
Deborah Markus
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
modern-classics
I swear to the Flying Spaghetti Monster, I'm catching up on my reviews this month if it kills me.
(Okay, no. I love Goodreads and I'm all about meeting my book challenge, but I think death is a little drastic.)
I hereby aver that I'm going to try to catch up on my reviews, as long as the tasks I skip in order to do so are nonessential, like housecleaning and fretting.
(Much better.)
Okay: I reread this old childhood favorite a couple of months ago as a brain-break. It stands the test of time well – ...more
(Okay, no. I love Goodreads and I'm all about meeting my book challenge, but I think death is a little drastic.)
I hereby aver that I'm going to try to catch up on my reviews, as long as the tasks I skip in order to do so are nonessential, like housecleaning and fretting.
(Much better.)
Okay: I reread this old childhood favorite a couple of months ago as a brain-break. It stands the test of time well – ...more
Jul 26, 2010
Beth
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reviewed,
project-nostalgia
So this is another really old YA, and it's a good one. It feels like a precursor of sorts to Izzy, Willy Nilly. Cathy is a teen with glaucoma, and the surgery that's supposed to save her vision doesn't work. She's a newly blind teenager, and she's an artist. There are so many reactions: the awful woman from the State School for the Blind, the neighbor who tells Cathy's mother to put Cathy in an institution, the friend who drops her like a hot potato...
Cathy decides to go to the state school so s ...more
Cathy decides to go to the state school so s ...more
This was my favorite book in 4th or 5th grade. I can't remember how many times I read it. Reading it again now.
Yes, I still like this book very much. It's not the same life-changing overwhelming love I remember from elementary school, but it's still a very good book.
Also, I don't remember crying when Cathy met Trudy or when they took that first solo trip around the block, but I did this time. It was a pleasure to watch Cathy adjust to her new life as well as begin the transformation from tomboy ...more
Yes, I still like this book very much. It's not the same life-changing overwhelming love I remember from elementary school, but it's still a very good book.
Also, I don't remember crying when Cathy met Trudy or when they took that first solo trip around the block, but I did this time. It was a pleasure to watch Cathy adjust to her new life as well as begin the transformation from tomboy ...more
Speaking of disability novels, this book about a teenage girl who loses her sight was MY JAM in 8th grade. The author actually lost her sight in high school, so take that, haters! I own the sequel Gift Of Gold, in which Cathy the blind girl pursues a career in speech pathology. Maybe it's time to actually read it.
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This is an old favorite of 70's YA that I found for a quarter and decided to re-read. It stands up surprisingly well; dated in its environment, but not enormously in its attitude. I love when she goes to the guide dog training and meets the housewife and the college professor who are also blind and clearly independent even without having guide dogs yet.
It's also where I learned about the LOC services for the blind, which are happily still in existence, although also happily no longer provided s ...more
It's also where I learned about the LOC services for the blind, which are happily still in existence, although also happily no longer provided s ...more
This is a book directed at young adults. I had read it in the 1970's and enjoyed it, but needed to read it again to decide on my rating. When I first started it I realized it was well-written, but I was looking at it as a book for teens. As I got into the book, I began to agonize with Cathy through her experience at the school for the blind and through the stifling of her seeming friend. When we begin to feel for the main character, then we cross over into liking a book, I think.
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I read this DECADES ago, but have thought of it many times since. This tells of the challenges a teenager faces as she loses her sight and struggles to adapt. It gave me a greater empathy for the blind, and a greater appreciation for my own sight.
It helped me understand a bit about what blind people go through on a daily basis. This helped later in life when I actually produced a play written by blind author, Lynn Manning.
I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I remember selecting this book from the school library as a child because of the dog on the cover. The story of a young woman who loses her sight stayed with me, decades afterward.
Cathy initially elects to go to a state school for the blind, and the awfulness of the food and insensitivity of the teachers are worthy of Jane Eyre, Little Princess, with a splash of Girl, Interrupted. This being an early 60s teen novel, the girls are all hilariously boy-crazy. Cathy be ...more
Cathy initially elects to go to a state school for the blind, and the awfulness of the food and insensitivity of the teachers are worthy of Jane Eyre, Little Princess, with a splash of Girl, Interrupted. This being an early 60s teen novel, the girls are all hilariously boy-crazy. Cathy be ...more
Cathy Wheeler's hard struggle through blindness is absolutely inspirational. Her story does not ask for pity; we understand her realistic worries and growing-up distresses. Cathy is an intelligent girl on the brink of becoming a woman, and her childlike and playful attitude in the beginning contrasts with her growing relationships with different characters in the end. Through Cathy's journey, we feel the ache she feels at the loss of her former "normal" life and her uneasiness with her new life
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Read many times as a kid. First read as an adult--will it hold up?
And it did! My feelings were luke-warm for the first half of the book, and I almost couldn't remember why I loved it so much (well, other than the fact that I've always had a fascination with Tragedy or Big Illnesses or whatever).
But then I got to the part where Cathy decides to get a guide dog. And my love for this book came flooding back. Trudy is awesome! Joan is hysterical! And Steve is dreamy.
Ultimatley, very satisfying and ...more
And it did! My feelings were luke-warm for the first half of the book, and I almost couldn't remember why I loved it so much (well, other than the fact that I've always had a fascination with Tragedy or Big Illnesses or whatever).
But then I got to the part where Cathy decides to get a guide dog. And my love for this book came flooding back. Trudy is awesome! Joan is hysterical! And Steve is dreamy.
Ultimatley, very satisfying and ...more
Inspiring and "real" without being maudlin. I especially like the assumption-bashing portion at the boarding school for the blind.
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I bought this book at a Bookfair in Manila. If I remembered correctly it was 2014, and boy, it’s already 2020. Sorry Beverly Butler for making you wait but today I can finally say I have read it, and it was my 11th book for this year’s reading challenge. I was very interested with this book mainly because of the cover as I am a dog person myself. I haven’t heard of this book ever, so I literally have no idea what to expect from this book.
As I flip through the pages, I am reminded of the pricks ...more
As I flip through the pages, I am reminded of the pricks ...more
Oct 01, 2020
Laura JC
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-young-people
Read this in 1967 at age 14 and wrote in my diary: "It is about a girl, 14, who becomes blind, goes to a blind school, doesn't like it, so goes to public high school with her guide dog, Trudy. It's a great story. And interesting."
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Read this whole thing today, mostly while I was scanning things, and I was truly delighted. I was drawn to the book for the fact that most children's and YA books from the mid-20th century featuring characters with disabilities were written by people without those disabilities; Light a Single Candle, on the other hand, was written by a woman who, like the main character, went blind as a teenager.
At fourteen, Cathy's sight is quickly disappearing to glaucoma, and an operation leaves her fully bli ...more
At fourteen, Cathy's sight is quickly disappearing to glaucoma, and an operation leaves her fully bli ...more
After being plagued with poor eyesight for years, fourteen year old Cathy Wheeler is excited to hear that there is a surgery which may be able to correct her problem. But after the bandages are removed, Cathy is left sightless. Adjusting to high school is hard enough without trying to adjust to her new condition. But after a semester at the blind school, she opts to get a seeing eye dog which promises to return to her the independence she misses so much. With the help of Trudy, Cathy returns to
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As I've finally got my hands on the sequel, a reread of Light a Single Candle was in order. Cathy is 14 and loses her sight to glaucoma. She had surgery to save what sight she had (would have been able to read print with a magnifying glass), and woke with no sight at all. I remember being fascinated by her story, and it was engrossing this time as well. Because she'd had sight, her brain still made pictures of her surroundings, so much so that she would sometimes forget she wasn't really seeing.
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Always has been one of my favorites, and I have read the sequel many times as well (Gift of Gold). This book was and is still inspirational to me. And I have always taken to heart the advice "to light a single candle." Life presents challenges to all of us, and to remember to approach them one step at a time is a feat. Cathy's struggles were always very real to me, though I'm not blind. Beverly Butler is a very evocative writer, as well.
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The eyes of young Cathy are going blind. She attends a school for the blind where the people and place are not so nice, and then goes to a training where she gets her dog Trudy. Going back to public school proves to be a challenge but Cathy meets the challenge. I have a hard time reading books like this because it's scary, but it is very well-written and very positive. There is little if any dwelling on losing her sight. There is mostly dwelling on how to overcome obstacles.
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The concept of slowly losing one's sight at a young age is daunting. Butler handles the traumatic story with grace and humor, bringing in the absolute awesomeness of the guide dog services. The training with the dog, the integration of the dog into the real world, and the ease, or lack thereof, with which the duo returns to normal life is all vividly portrayed. Be sure to also read the sequel (name escapes me), as well as Butler's autobiographical tale of life with her own guide dogs.
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This book stayed with me for a very long time when I read it in my youth. It's about a 14 year old girl who loses her sight and how she deals with it. If I ever come across a copy, I will snatch it up and reread it.
Feb 2010 - I just reread it after finding a copy at alibris.com and I still love it! ...more
Feb 2010 - I just reread it after finding a copy at alibris.com and I still love it! ...more
Aug 13, 2008
Julie
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone
Shelves:
favorites
Dated, but great! Set in the early 60's, this is the semi-autobiographical story of a young teenage girl who loses her sight to glaucoma. As she learns to cope with her sudden blindness, she mainstreams into her local high school, and eventually her parents purchase a guide dog for her. I have read this many times, and it still rings true, despite the generation gap.
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This was one of my favorite books growing up and I reread it every time I come across it (I have a special place for all my childhood books so they won't be as subjected to the "elements"... and my shoddy housecleaning techniques) which is about every three years. I have to say, I still like it just as much each and every time I read it!
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It is completely heartbreaking when Cathy loses her sight and her whole life changes. I became absorbed the minute I started. Because it is an older book it took me completely by surprise with the way it grabs the reader by making them travel a the world through the eyes of a blind woman. Overall one of the most impacting books I have ever read.
I read this as a teenager and remember what a great book it was. Now that my sons are visually impaired, I would like to read it again and get a feel for what they are going through. I just saw a review for "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" and thought of this book. I am going to see if my library has both of them along with "Lisa, Bright and Dark".
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Like many others have commented, I read and re-read this book numerous times in my youth. Very much gave me an insight to those who are blind and to this day, I am aware of those who are blind and ready to offer assistance - my friends feel bad because they are not even noticing the individual when I do. Thanks, Ms. Butler for making adding that little facet to my character.
Jan 05, 2008
Joanna
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
youngreaders-ya,
rereads
Another deeply moving book that felt true to me as a child. It's the story of a 14 year old girl who loses her sight and how she learns to adjust to her new world. The author is blind and writes very engagingly of the real struggles she faces.
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I don't remember how long it's been since I read this, probably sometime last year. It's about a girl who loses her eye sight. I thought it was a touching story. I honestly can't remember specifics about it right now but it's a good short book.
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Old favorite that I came across when "weeding" at the library where I volunteer. Outdated in technology and in the field of treatment and education for those who have lost their sight, but a familar "old friend" that was a quick re-read that flashed me back to my childhood...
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What a refreshing change from Follow My Leader, which I finished a few days ago. This is a much fuller very real character. Good story, real issues and real solutions. This author lost her sight and I think her insights really helped make this book real. I liked it a lot.
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Also known as
Beverly K. Olsen
Was married to Theodore Victor Olsen
Beverly was a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a long time resident of Rhinelander. Beverly had planned to be an artist, but an impending blindness impelled her to learn typing in order to rejoin her high school class. For practice, she began typing remembered stories which led to her inventing stories.
In 1954, she graduated cu ...more
Beverly K. Olsen
Was married to Theodore Victor Olsen
Beverly was a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a long time resident of Rhinelander. Beverly had planned to be an artist, but an impending blindness impelled her to learn typing in order to rejoin her high school class. For practice, she began typing remembered stories which led to her inventing stories.
In 1954, she graduated cu ...more
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Cathy Wheeler
(2 books)
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