According to scientists, 80 percent of our information comes to us through our eyes; they send a billion messages each second, twice as many as the whole rest of the body. These are some of the facts reported by Henry Grunwald, former editor-in-chief of Time, Inc. publications and one-time ambassador to Austria. Late in life, he contracted age-related macular degeneration, known as AMD. Over 15 million Americans are affected with this gradual loss of sight. There is no cure.
In Hinduism, Buddhism, and other religions, the eye was "not merely an agent of divine surveillance. It was also considered the center of human wisdom and insight, known in various forms as the inner eye, the third eye, or the eye of the heart." Grunwald describes the gradual dimming of his vision and his project of harvesting his own visual memories. He tries some magnification gadgets, visits a support group for those with macular degeneration, and has a cataract operation. Along the way, Grunwald describes what it's like living in a half-veiled world where he can't distinguish colors, is unable to retrieve a dropped coin or other small objects, must sit up close in movies, and has entered what he calls "the second childhood of messy eating." What he misses most of all is the ability to read books. A sense of humor, a playful attitude toward his affliction, and gratitude for what he can see help carry him through small embarrassments and frequent depressions. This fine work ends with Grunwald's witty reprise: "Being half-blind is not a bad metaphor for the human condition."