A Different Kind of Seeing: My journey

Description

Marie Younan was born in 1952 into a family of Assyrian refugees living in north-eastern Syria. Accidentally blinded by her grandmother as a baby, Marie was the quiet, ever-present listener within her large extended family. Locked out of school, play, and social gatherings, she lived a brave inner life of reflection and acceptance. Marie Younan was born in 1952 into a family of Assyrian refugees living in north-eastern Syria. Accidentally blinded by her grandmother as a baby, Marie was the quiet, ever-present listener within her large extended family. Locked out of school, play, and social gatherings, she lived a brave inner life of reflection and acceptance. The family migrated to Beirut, and then, in the mid-seventies, to Melbourne, Australia to escape the Lebanese civil war. Being blind, Marie was denied a visa, and was forced to wait in Syria and Athens for three years before the family could sponsor her to Australia. Unable to speak English, dependent for everything on her family, Marie, in her words, was 'only half alive'. Then, in 1985, aged 33, she attended the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind. There she became fluent in English, literate in braille, and physically mobile with the help of a cane. Educated, independent, and professionally qualified at last, her life began to take off. 'A story, raw with reality, full of love and hope, where the stream of resilience runs clear. We share the life of someone for whom blindness is not the insurmountable barrier many believe it to be. What most holds Marie back is the soft bigotry of low expectations. It is hard to put this book down.' -Graeme Innes AM 'Huge-hearted and inspiring. A book that literally makes us see the world in new ways.' -Chloe Hooper 'A tale of dispossession, displacement, and remarkable resilience. Epic in scope, but always grounded in the domestic, it chronicles one woman's struggle to live a fulfilling life, despite her blindness and lack of education. Marie Younan is an engaging storyteller- intimate, warm, direct, and honest. In Jill Sanguinetti she has a skilful writer who has worked with her to create a rich tapestry, interweaving ancient and contemporary Assyrian history and a vast gallery of family characters, teachers, friends, and support workers who have taken part in her journey.' -Arnold Zable

Marie Younan (Author) Marie Younan is a professional interpreter with counsellors and refugees at the Foundation Centre for Survivors of Torture. Jill Sanguinetti (Author) Jill Sanguinetti is a retired teacher and educational researcher. Her memoir, School Days of a Methodist Lady- a journey through girlhood, was published in 2014.