Review by Booklist Review
Former civil rights lawyer and federal judge Tatel has spent the last half of his 80 years legally blind. His blindness, a result of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), has shaped his life as much as his scientist father, caring wife and family, and his devotion to the law. In this thoughtful memoir, Tatel recalls his years studying law, working as a civil rights lawyer during the formation and heart of the movement in the 1960s and 1970s, and becoming a judge. As his vision became progressively worse, Tatel managed to hide his disability by virtue of his excellent memory and learned strategies. When he finally had to acknowledge his blindness, he found not only acceptance but also help in the forms of technological developments and a dog named Vixen. For over 30 years, Tatel was a "judge who was blind" who listened carefully to testimony, memorized rulings, and followed proceedings by ear. This fascinating memoir is both an inside look at the judicial system and an inspiring tale of a man who moved beyond his physical limits to excel in his vocation.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Tatel shares in this inspiring debut how he navigated a flourishing legal career while living with the genetic condition that cost him his sight. Born in 1942 in Washington, D.C., Tatel noticed his vision starting to decline as he approached adolescence. In 1958, he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which causes the retina to break down over time. Shortly before Tatel was diagnosed, his father died of a brain tumor, leaving Tatel in the care of his emotionally distant mother, who urged him to "live a normal life" despite his diagnosis. He followed suit by graduating from law school at the University of Chicago, helping found the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, landing a position in Jimmy Carter's administration, and being appointed to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals by Bill Clinton in 1994. Along the way, Tatel struggled to come to terms with his declining vision, and hid his diagnosis from friends and colleagues. With encouragement from his wife, Edie, however, Tatel grew to accept his condition, accepting help first from a guide dog and then from emerging digital technologies. Throughout, Tatel's humility and tenacity shine. The result is a stirring reflection on an extraordinary life. Agent: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Agency. (June)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A distinguished jurist recounts a lifetime of trials in and out of the courtroom. Dispense with the bit about justice being blind. Tatel, who has been blind for most of his legal career as a result of a degenerative retinal disease, has heard it all. Regarding that fact, he dedicates a bit of hard-won advice: "Don't deny your challenges, embrace them." The author's principal challenges came in two forms: his growing blindness, first diagnosed when he was still in high school, and many years of trying to hide that blindness from colleagues and students, fearing that it would harm his career. By the time Bill Clinton appointed him to the Washington, D.C., circuit court, Tatel was well established; he had worked for years in corporate law while devoting countless pro bono hours to civil rights issues in the 1960s and beyond. "Despite my best efforts, my blindness had become part of the narrative," writes the author, although he had long since learned to accommodate that blindness through a combination of technological aides (a Braille computer, for instance) and a powerful memory. Although his memoir is both affecting and inspiring, of particular interest to readers of a legal bent are Tatel's well-informed criticism of the current Supreme Court's conservative majority for its steady diminishment of voting rights and dismemberment of various provisions of the Voting Rights Act. A committed liberal, the author notes that the current Court's insistence that the states enjoy "equal sovereignty" is an anachronism that the Constitution does not support, "invented, recently, not for principled reasons, but to produce the Court's preferred outcomes." He urges readers to remedy an ideologically corrupt Court by voting for legislators willing to fight for civil rights and other causes. A provocative, well-written pleasure for students of contemporary jurisprudence. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
