Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for The Beauty of Dusk by Frank Bruni - Available

The Beauty of Dusk

On Vision Lost and Found

by Frank Bruni
Frank Bruni
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
From New York Times columnist and bestselling author Frank Bruni comes "a book about vision loss that becomes testimony to human courage, a moving memoir that offers perspective, comfort, and hope" (Booklist, starred review).
One morning in late 2017, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni woke up with strangely blurred vision. He wondered at first if some goo or gunk had worked its way into his right eye. But this was no fleeting annoyance, no fixable inconvenience. Overnight, a rare stroke had cut off blood to one of his optic nerves, rendering him functionally blind in that eye—forever. And he soon learned from doctors that the same disorder could ravage his left eye, too. He could lose his sight altogether.

In this "moving and inspiring" (The Washington Post) memoir, Bruni beautifully recounts his adjustment to this daunting reality, a medical and spiritual odyssey that involved not only reappraising his own priorities but also reaching out to, and gathering wisdom from, longtime friends and new acquaintances who had navigated their own traumas and afflictions.

The result is a poignant, probing, and ultimately "a positive message, a powerful reminder that with great vulnerability also comes great reward" (Oprah Winfrey). Bruni's world blurred in one sense, as he experienced his first real inklings that the day isn't forever and that light inexorably fades, but sharpened in another. Confronting unexpected hardship, he felt more blessed than ever before. The Beauty of Dusk is "a wonderful book. Honest. Poetic. Uplifting." (Lesley Stahl).

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 1, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797137124
      • File size: 252623 KB
      • Duration: 08:46:17

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Frank Bruni narrates his audiobook in a tone of calm wisdom. Bruni, a columnist and critic for the NEW YORK TIMES, became partially blind after a stroke. At first in denial, he experienced the medical establishment's struggle to conclude what exactly happened. Along the way, he adapted to his new reality. In one scene, Bruni describes not being able to secure consistent support to fly with the medical equipment he needed, despite his best efforts. Bruni expands the story to reflect on the nature of aging and the value of knowledge and wisdom as one grows older. "We have very few options. We either go forward, or we don't." Throughout, listeners will find themselves enveloped by Bruni's hopeful tone. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2022

      New York Times columnist, author, and Duke professor Bruni (Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be) narrates this work, bringing a sense of immediacy and intimacy to a revelatory odyssey that is itself an interrogation of the medical, spiritual, and emotional process by which he deals with the loss of sight. In a conversational, straightforward voice, Bruni describes ischemic optic neuropathy, a rare kind of stroke, that destroyed the vision in his right eye. He illuminates how he comes to process the feelings and adjustments he has had to make: problems in reading print or a computer screen, driving only during the day, the departure of his partner, and the realization that the other eye could succumb too. He takes inspiration from others who have overcome adversity, describing their efforts in terms that can suggest a self-help style of positive thinking, which may annoy some listeners. VERDICT This book is recommended to those curious about the spectrum of vision loss that goes far beyond the stereotypes, to lovers of memoir, to libraries wanting to enrich their collection of blindness-related materials, and to loyal Bruni fans curious about how he learns to navigate the world.--David Faucheux

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 29, 2021
      New York Times columnist Bruni (Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be) imparts in this generous memoir the wisdom he learned after he began to lose his eyesight. One morning in October 2017, Bruni woke up with blurry vision, only to later discover that a stroke had destroyed the optic nerve in one of his eyes, leaving the other eye vulnerable to a similar fate and Bruni at risk of total blindness. “t made me tremble, tested me and forced me to see in a new way,” he writes. Coming to terms with his new reality, Bruni delves into the emotional, psychological, and social tolls of losing his eyesight, while musing on the experience of aging, connecting his story to the way Joe Biden’s age was discussed when he was running for president. Despite being widely considered as past his “prime,” Bruni argues that the septuagenarian candidate “defied the naysayers”: “what Biden lacked in zip, he made up for in zen.” It’s a compassionate take on growing older that, when combined with sanguine insights on living with compromised vision, illustrates Bruni’s knack for writing about the unpredictable beauty of the human condition. Smartly mixing memoir and cultural criticism, this movingly speaks to an entire generation. Agent: Amanda Urban, ICM.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading