A memoir by one of America's most accomplished public servants-who spent years denying and working around his blindness, before finally embracing it as an essential part of his identity.
David Tatel has served nearly 30 years on America's second highest court, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where many of our most crucial cases are resolved, or teed up for the Supreme Court. He has championed voting rights for his entire adult life; decided landmark cases on the environment; and embodied the ideal of what a great judge should be. Yet he has been blind for the past 50 of his 80-plus years. Initially, he depended upon aides to read texts to him, and more recently, a suite of hi-tech solutions has allowed him to listen to reams of documents at high speeds. At first, he tried to hide his deteriorating vision, and for years, he denied that it had any impact on his career. Only recently, partly thanks to his first-ever guide dog, has he come to fully accept and embrace his condition, realizing that in many ways, it has been a strength, not just something to work around. As one of America's most accomplished blind citizens in any field, Judge Tatel's story is an inspiration to us all.
