Outside Myself
Extraordinary insight into living without sight
Outside Myself will enlighten both young and old. Tallie is a young girl struggling to adjust to her blindness. Benjamin is an older gentleman working in a library for the blind. A chance phone call between them leads to a transformative year, and a window of understanding is flung open as empathy, independence, and resolution rush in.
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Kristen Witucki has been blind since birth and earned a BA in English from Vassar College, an MA in giftedness from Teachers College, Columbia University, an MFA in fiction writing from Sarah Lawrence College, and an Ed.M. in teaching students who are blind or visually impaired from Dominican College. She has been published on several blogs, and a story will appear in an anthology, Concert at Chopin's House. Kristen Witucki teaches and lives with her husband, her young son, and her guide dog.
"It is SO REFRESHING to encounter people with disabilities in a story who are not merely heroic. Ultimately, these are heroic individuals as agents in their own lives, but they are not "brave blind people." -- Jacquelyn Mitchard, Author of Two if by Sea
"Outside Myself is a lovely, unusual novel about an eleven-year-old blind girl whose parents are divorced, and her friendship with a much older African-American man who works in a library for the blind. Rich in sensory detail, this story offers rare and authentic insight into navigating the world without sight, but it's really about loneliness and making connections and being human. This book is certain to appeal to a broad range of readers." -- Suzanne Kamata, author of Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible and The Mermaids of Lake Michigan
"Outside Myself is an extraordinary novel. Its characters--bumbling, cranky, wonderful--negotiate the sighted world as kid and adult, and form a rare and rocky friendship. This is fiction that causes us to understand much that we would miss and does so with true vibrant charm." -- Joan Silber, author of Fools
"Outside Myself interweaves the stories of a young girl and the older customer service representative she connects with on the phone by chance one day, experiencing blindness--and its confluence with race, religion, education, illness, friendship, and family--in separate, yet intersecting ways. Witucki's use of music and literature as conduits for her characters' development and her clean, clear prose, full of interiority and insight, give the reader an immersive and engaging picture of these two remarkable lives." -- Nicole Haroutunian, author of Speed Dreaming
"Outside Myself is a powerful narrative about adolescent angst and the ability of a mentor to change lives, including his own. The story focuses on Tallie, a sixth-grade girl struggling to adjust to her blindness, and Benjamin, a blind braille librarian with a troubled past; each has a compelling story to tell. Young adult readers will be captivated by Witucki's dynamic prose and memorable characters." -- Anna Swenson, former teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired; author of Beginning with Braille
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