The Many Ways of Seeing - Achilles Sydney member Nick Gleeson publishes his memoir

We are beyond proud to announce that Honorary Lifetime Member Nick Gleeson has published his first book, a memoir on his life after losing his sight at age 7 and his amazing adventures thereafter. Please read the below press release with links to online retailers provided at the bottom.

Well done Nick for setting and achieving another lifetime goal. In the words of Sylvia Plath – “And by the way, everything in your life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt”

THE MANY WAYS OF SEEING
BY NICK GLEESON WITH PETER BISHOP

An inspiring true story of blindness, friendship and adventure.

In desperation, I look up into mum’s face. A small face – a loving face – And the lights go out. Her face is the last image I will ever see in my lifetime.

Written with warmth, humour and honesty, The Many Ways of Seeing is Nick Gleeson’s story – an inspiring portrayal of a man exploring the world without sight.

Nick Gleeson has trekked great distances around the world, climbed Mount Everest, carried the Sydney Olympic torch, and most recently completed an arduous 200km expedition across the Simpson Desert.
Blind since the age of seven, Nick lost his sight when an automatic supermarket door struck his head, causing a retinal detachment.

As he grew up in the working-class suburb of Broadmeadows, Nick taught himself to ‘see’ without seeing: learning the shape of each shoe so he knew left from right. Holding the huge, rough hand of his father. Smelling the well-worn vinyl of the family car.
Many years later, when Nick meets co-author and leading Australian writing mentor, Peter Bishop, he has led an amazing life filled with more than its share of challenges, loves, losses, and laughter.
Before he was twenty, he’d lost his mother to chronic illness and his brother Russell to a shooting accident.

But when you come from the Broadmeadows of the 1960s, you can’t help knowing what it means to do it tough, and Nick’s modesty and ease with the world shines through on every page of The Many Ways of Seeing.
Nick describes himself as a very ordinary person who has managed to follow many of his dreams – among them raising two children with his wife Heather, who is also blind.

A unique collaboration of memoir and conversation, The Many Ways of Seeing will open readers eyes to the different ways people see and experience the world, give deep insights into the writing process, and inspire Australians of all abilities.

The Many Ways of Seeing is the first book published under the new Ventura Press imprint, Peter Bishop Books, which aims to create opportunities for emerging writers.

The Many Ways of Seeing is available at all good bookstores and online at Booktopia and Book Depository.

Photo of the front cover of The Many Ways of Seeing