Stars: *****
Knopf Canada, a division of Random House (2010)
Nonfiction: Memoir/Biography/Parenting
272 pages
Summary: C’mon Papa is Ryan Knighton’s heartbreaking and hilarious voyage through the first year of fatherhood. Becoming a father is a stressful, daunting rite of passage to be sure, but for a blind father, the fears are unimaginably heightened. Ryan will have to find novel ways to adapt to nearly every aspect of parenting: the most basic skills are nearly impossible to contemplate, let alone master. And how will Ryan get to know this pre-verbal bundle of coos and burps when he can’t see her smile, or look into her eyes for hints of the person to come? – from Random House
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be blind AND a parent? Wonder no longer. Ryan Knighton tells us the good, the bad and the ugly in his most recent memoir. The book switches from educational, to humourous, to breath holding moments, to sympathy inducing.
I learned about blindness in general as well as parenting while blind. I already knew that blind people keep things in their house in a certain spot so they can maneuver around but it never occurred to me that a blind person could have a job. (I apologize to all blind people who work.)
I think this is a much needed memoir that more people should read. Most of us don’t really know what it’s like to live with a special need let alone how to be a parent with a special need. Ryan Knighton is the perfect author as well, he tells a great story.
However he does include just a few swear words. I am turned off my swear words and could have done without them but there were only a few so it was easy to just ignore them and continue reading.
Links of Interest: Ryan Knighton, Ryan Knighton on Twitter,
Other Reviews: NONE YET
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