EXCERPTS FROM "WALL OF FOG" (Book Reviews follow):

The last laser surgery in the left eye stopped the hemorrhaging, but I lost more vision. I lost more central vision.

During this same month and within a week or so later, I received a shocker. It set me further back emotionally. This was much worse than when I lost my vision from my left eye. Psychologically, I knew that I still had my vision from my best eye. My entire world just collapsed on me. My life would change more drastically again......

My right eye and best eye began giving me problems. I again started experiencing blurred, foggy and distorted vision in this eye. Now, I also had a wall that encircled me. It was a boundary. It was a wall of cloudy, foggy vision that I could see up to, but not beyond. I became.....

From my own experience of losing much of my sight and other medical experience while in the medical corps in the Army, I know that we go through a series of behavioral changes or stages which are totally natural processes when you begin to lose your sight or have a disabling loss. I cannot say enough for these stages. If you are caring for yourself or someone else and observing these stages, remind yourself that it is okay and that it is a natural thing to do...

I am legally blind, which means I don't see well at all. I see blurred and distorted at best. I turned in my driver's license. That took guts! I'm the guy in the department store who asks a mannequin for assistance and when I don't get and answer, I ask to speak to management for an apology. So you take it from there. I'm not an eagle eye, but a blind bat....

The funniest thing about being blind in my case, is that one moment I can see a straight pin on the floor from across the room and the very next minute, I bump into something or someone.

BOOK REVIEWS:

WALL OF FOG IS A FINE PIECE OF WORK. You have honestly conveyed the feeling and emotion one experiences with a vision loss. This would make good required reading for eye doctors-in-training, as well as other doctors. Often we are so concerned with the function of an organ that we forget the person attached to it. Also, this is a good book to let other visually impaired persons know that their experiences are similar, they are not alone coping with an impairment. Your book would make an EXCELLENT RESOURCE for schools that train social workers, psychologists, etc. ----Jay A. Newsome, O.D., Optometry, Fresno, California

WALL OF FOG IS WRITTEN FROM THE HEART and I think it will touch your heart as it did mine. Tom opens a window into the Fog that shrouds and protects most of us from the fearful experience of losing our sight. Tom’s honesty and sense of humor make this an easy book to read. Whether you are sighted or blind you will learn some new things and enjoy it. ----Philip Kimble, Director of Friendship Center for the Blind and part time Lecturer in Psychology at California State University, Fresno.

It is amazing how one man can endure and overcome such adversity. This reveals a man’s love for life. ----Patricia and Tony Stapleton, Science Teachers, Washington

Tom has set a GOOD EXAMPLE in Wall of Fog. It is very encouraging. ----Katherine Lin, RN. BSN, Coordinator, Community Cardiac Rehab. Center, Fresno, California

As a man with blindness, Tom Gonzales shows us how to cope with challenges in life. I want to thank Tom for sharing his precious experiences in “Wall of Fog”. ----Emi Kaneko, MSW, Rehab. Social Worker

Wall of Fog is not only informative with a touch of humor, but it also gives “New Hope” to the complex lives of the blind and visually impaired! ----Shirley Gillemwter, Widow/Homemaker, Legally Blind, Fresno, California

Because it is a:

-”Self-help book for a person with a major loss.”

-”It is a valuable resource for loved ones and others with Macular Degeneration.”

-”Everyone in one’s life will experience a loss. You will return to ‘WALL OF FOG’ again and again to improve your mental health.”