Brief Book Reviews: May 2025

BRIEF BOOK REVIEWS

Popular Books Relevant to Mental Health

Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure and the Man Who Dared to See

Robert Kurson; Random House, 2007

328 pages; $10 (paperback)

Reviewed by Edmund S. Higgins, MD

When he was 3 years old, Mike May was blinded in his father’s shed by a freak chemical explosion. He lost his left eye and could only perceive night and day in his right. But despite this dramatic turn of events, May charged through life with remarkable fearlessness—and occasionally, recklessness.

On the playground, because he could not see, he was kicked in the face by kids on swings, hit in the groin during dodgeball, and even knocked unconscious in kickball. None of it stopped him. He once took his bike for a solo joyride through his neighborhood. Curious, bold, and blissfully undeterred by painful lessons, May grew up with an attitude that screamed, “Vision is optional, adventure is not.” As an adult, armed with clever workarounds and an unshakable drive, May carved out a successful career as an entrepreneur in developing technology for the visually impaired.

At 46, he met an ophthalmologist pioneering a groundbreaking stem cell transplant procedure—one that might actually restore his sight. The story kicks into high gear here, and the descriptions of the surgery (along with a spirited review of the anatomy and physiology of the eye) add a medical edge to an already captivating narrative. The aftermath of the procedure provides a nuanced understanding into the plasticity of the brain, but also the emotional and psychological whiplash that comes from altering our perception of our environment. This is revelent to psychiatrists and mental health clinicians because our understanding of recovery has eveloved to include successful plasticity (rewiring), and as we see with May and visual awakening, there are also limitations in our patients.

The audiobook offers 2 versions: a full-length edition clocking in at around 10 hours, and a brisk, abridged 6-hour cut. If you are short on time, the abridged version still delivers hours of entertaining, thought-provoking, and inspiring commentary.

The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight

Andrew Leland; Random House, 2023

364 pages; $17 (paperback)

Reviewed by Edmund S. Higgins, MD

At the age of 12, when he realized he could no longer see the stars, Andrew was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa—a relentlessly progressive retinal disease with no known cure. He takes us along on his journey through mourning and adaptation as his rods, and then his cones, fade into darkness.

His story offers a thoughtful review of the anatomy of the eye and the many flavors of visual impairment—from congenital to acquired, from sudden to gradual. In retinitis pigmentosa, it is the peripheral vision that vanishes first, while a shrinking tunnel of central vision can linger for decades.

Andrew wrestles with the familiar tension between denial and acceptance. Like many of our patients who want to toss their medications, and cancel appointments, Andrew dreams of ditching his white cane—only to find himself stepping on toes (quite literally) he did not see.

For psychiatrists and mental health clinicians, it may be refreshing to hear a patient’s perspective on his resistance to the gradual encroachment of disability—an issue we encounter in some of our patients, particularly those with serious mental illness. It is worth noting that the book’s tone remains a bit flat and the writing, though earnest, does lack narrative momentum.

Dr Higgins is an affiliate associate professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.