I couldn’t get into this one for a little while. It was covering some of the authors family history and it felt a little like when someone brings out an old family album when you visit and you have to stifle a yawn. I wasn’t motivated to pick it up and then saw a couple of really good reviews. When I went back to redownload it to try again, it was expired. That’s my bad. Perhaps I will get the chance to make another attempt at it in the future because I would actually really like to.

Being blind from birth may not be easy, but going blind as a young man could be devastating. Sandford Greenberg found out how devastating it could be. He also found out how determination, desire, and friendship can be used to overcome blindness.

When a mistake by an ophthalmologist cost him his eyesight, Sanford was on his journey to education at Columbia and had a bright future. Refusing all of the help blind people rely on such as canes and seeing-eye dogs, he learned to navigate a world of darkness. Relying on family and friends he completed his education and went on to live his dreams.

I love stories of people who have overcome the odds. This book proved the ability of humans to overcome more than we believe.

I really enjoyed this memoir, though it was quite short. I didn't realize this was an adaptation of Greenberg's existing book targeted to younger audiences until I'd already started reading. I plan on checking out the full book at some point, but this was still a solid memoir in its own right. I really appreciated Greenberg's positivity and straightforwardness throughout the book.

I'd say the target audience for this would probably be middle grade.

I thought this was a fascinating read! My only gripe is that I wish it was longer and more detailed about his life after Columbia, instead of the short synopsis at the very end. Overall, a very interesting read.

This book and memoir had the potential to be much better than it was especially since the author overcame so many obstacles when he was suddenly blind at the prime of this life. He has advanced degrees and has done so much in his life despite his handicap and a few famous friendships. I did find it rather interesting that Art Garfunkel was his college roommate and they remained close for a long time afterwards,

Then we come to where this book was lacking. The writing and overall story-telling seemed like a laundry list or check-off list since. There were many gaps in the story with his friendships to Art Garfunkel and David Rockefeller. I just lost interest reading this about halfway though.

Would I recommend this? Not really, even though it probably took a lot of bravery to share this struggle.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sanford D Greenberg and Post Hill Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 6/21/22

This struck a chord with me since the author lost his sight as an adult. I lost sight in my left eye as an adult as well and it’s always there in the back of my mind that I could lose sight in my good eye. It was interesting how he navigated the world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to read this book because I am also legally blind although I didn't lose my vision suddenly like the author did. That must e been so terrifying to lose vision then get it back for a bit only to lose it again.
This book was a young readers edition so it was fairly short. The writing wasn't as good as I'd expected but it was a pretty good book. Some parts were more like lists of his accomplishments, which seemed to not fit into the flow of the story.
He is an inspiring man and I like that he wants to end blindness by supporting researchers and organizations who deal with eye issues.

I first heard about Sanford Greenberg’s story a week before I started reading Hello Darkness. Unbeknownst to me, this was a young readers version of the book Greenberg published a couple of years ago. But that didn’t matter. The story of how he dealt with the onset of blindness at age 19, while a student at Columbia, and how he decided to work on overcoming obstacles, was inspiring. His friendship with Art Garfunkel is a beautiful story. Garfunkel, who was his roommate, helped get him through college and life. In return, when Garfunkel needed money in the early days of Simon and Garfunkel, Greenberg and his wife didn’t hesitate to nearly deplete their savings to help his dearest friend. A wonderful and inspiring story, no matter the age of the reader.

My thanks to Post Hill Press and to Netgalley for an ARC of the book.