Synopses & Reviews
When Nicole C. Kear was nineteen years old, she walked into an eye doctors 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 visions 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, 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 lifes curveballs. a story about how sometimes glory and freedom is found in the surrender and not in the fight. And its a story about acceptance - facing the truths that just wont go away and facing yourself, flaws and all.
Review
"Her story is spunky and full of a zest for life that will open the eyes of readers to the little joys of the world. A tender memoir about love, life and going blind." —Kirkus Reviews
“Kear is earthy and daringly frank in this never-boring, unusually illuminating account of living with diminishing sight as she, ultimately, takes a refreshingly glass-half-full approach to life. ‘The wonderful thing about going blind is that along with the beautiful sights, you miss unattractive ones, too. You wont see your crows feet. Funny and poignant.”—Booklist
"Hilarious and profoundly heartwarming. Now I See You will change the way you see the world." —Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia
"It's too easy to praise a memoir about disability for its courage. Nicole Kear is much more than brave - she's sassy, stylish, defiant and funny." —Domenica Ruta, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You
"The only thing truly dark about Nicole C. Kears memoir is her sense of humor. Whether shes saying goodbye to high heels, dimly-lit bars and one big secret, or hello to a loving family, you will cheer for her every precarious step of the way."—Jenny Bowman, Glamour
"You wouldn't think a story about going blind would be much fun to read. Now I See You is moving, beautifully crafted, and unexpectedly hilarious. I didn't want this book to end." —Alice Bradley, author of Let's Panic About Babies
"In this fine account, by turns poignant and funny, Kear describes how she banished that specter and dealt successfully with the growing darkness." —Yale Alumni Magazine
Review
"Hilariously inspiring... Kear's book is a showstopper." -People"A frightening diagnosis is only start of the story... Now I See You is a funny, sassy, yet poignant story." -The New York Times "We're here to tell you that Kear's memoir is one of 2014's best books and one that will have you alternating between laughing and crying from page to page." -Parade"A young mother going blind is no laughing matter, except, incredibly so, it is in Nicole C. Kear's courageous, relatable and, yes, truly funny Now I See You." -Family Circle"A brave and compelling memoir... Honest, funny, sad and uplifting." -Marie Claire UK"Her story is spunky and full of a zest for life that will open the eyes of readers to the little joys of the world. A tender memoir about love, life and going blind." -Kirkus Reviews"Hilarious and profoundly heartwarming. Now I See You will change the way you see the world." -Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia
Synopsis
At nineteen years old, Nicole C. Kear's biggest concern is choosing a major--until she walks into a doctors 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 visions 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 wont 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 lifes curveballs, about the power of love to triumph over fear. But, at its core, its a story about acceptance: facing the truths that just won't go away, and facing yourself, broken parts and all.
About the Author
Nicole C. Kear is a parenting writer who contributes essays and articles to Parents, American Baby, Babble and Salon, among others. A native of New York, she received a BA from Yale, a MA from Columbia, and a red nose from the San Francisco School of Circus Arts. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, three children and a morbidly obese goldfish.