For the Benefit of Those Who See - Paperback

by Mahoney (Author)

In the tradition of Oliver Sacks's The Island of the Colorblind, Rosemary Mahoney tells the story of Braille Without Borders, the first school for the blind in Tibet, and of Sabriye Tenberken, the remarkable blind woman who founded the school. Fascinated and impressed by what she learned from the blind children of Tibet, Mahoney was moved to investigate further the cultural history of blindness. As part of her research, she spent three months teaching at Tenberken's international training center for blind adults in Kerala, India, an experience that reveals both the shocking oppression endured by the world's blind, as well as their great resilience, integrity, ingenuity, and strength. By living among the blind, Rosemary Mahoney enables us to see them in fascinating close up, revealing their particular "quality of ease that seems to broadcast a fundamental connection to the world." Having read FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WHO SEE, you will never see the world in quite the same way again.

Author Biography

Rosemary Mahoney is the author of six books of nonfiction, including Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff. She was educated at Harvard College and Johns Hopkins University and was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a nomination for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Mahoney has written for numerous publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post Book World, and the New York Times Book Review. She lives in Rhode Island.