May 04, 2015 08:05 PM
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T is hard to imagine the true implications of living a life in the dark. Anna Lyndsey (pen name) allows us glimpse of her black box life in this beautifully poetic memoir. If it is often emotionally devastating for the reader, envision that we get to go back to our world of light.
It begins slowly with light sensitivity, burning facial skin when sitting in front of a computer screen.”Burns? Burns like the worst kind of sunburn. Burns like someone is holding a flame-thrower to my head."
Rather than diminishing, this sensitivity to light progresses and Lyndsey’s life is changed forever. Had she written Girl in the Dark in diary format, it may have kept my attention. Instead, she chose to present a group of vignettes in no particular order of occurrence making this blueprint of her daily living a compelling reality.
Lyndsey does not seek our sympathy. She presents it like it is, in itself a way to pass her days.
My book is marked with so many colorful sticky notes, red, green, purple. If I were to quote each passage that touched me I’d be guilty of infringement."I covet tales of human beings in extremis; want to know how they felt, what they did, how they bore it.”
This, in the end, may be why I found my way to Girl in the Dark. It is an exquisitely written testament to the human spirit. I have learned something invaluable in its reading. My hope is that you will also.
