The Official Website of Beth Pizzarello
Author of Eclipsed: My Journey Into Blindness and the Miraculous Surgery That Restored My Sight Decades Later
About
Beth Pizzarello
Elizabeth Pizzarello was born a sighted child in the Bronx, New York. She grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Cedar Crest College, in Pennsylvania. Just weeks before graduating, she was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder that contributed to her eventual blindness. After ten years of living blind, in 2012 Elizabeth was the beneficiary of a newly developed lens implant procedure with miraculous results. The surgery took her from a state of complete blindness to the limited use of one eye.
The inspiration for writing this memoir came from that moment of profound gratitude when Elizabeth experienced her newly regained sight post surgery. Elizabeth’s poem “WOW” was composed during the first month of her sight being restored. The ability to see the incredible world around her again had such a profound impact that she was compelled to write the poem in an attempt to distill the emotional magnitude of her journey. That is why the poem occupies such a prominent position at the beginning of her book.
This book recounts moments from her story about going from life as a sighted child, through early adulthood, when she first received the devastating diagnosis of the disease that led to the gradual reduction of her sight that ended in blindness. But going blind and being blind are not the same thing, nor is going blind just about learning to live in darkness. It is Elizabeth’s desire to explain the psychological complexity of that transition as well as share the incredible twist of fate that enabled her to have a portion of her vision restored a decade later.
Elizabeth is working on a collection of children’s stories that embody themes of compassion, determination, resilience, and pushing past limiting beliefs based on the lessons she learned from her experience as a disabled individual.
Elizabeth and her husband, Bill, live in Florida.
Beth Pizzarello
"Nobody hands you a manual on how to cope the day you learn you are going blind."
Elizabeth Pizzarello was forced to face such a diagnosis two weeks before graduating from college. That slap of reality is what sets Elizabeth and the reader on the journey described in this remarkable and inspiring book.
Elizabeth Pizzarello’s memoir, "Eclipsed," is an unflinchingly honest account of one woman’s struggle with going blind and overcoming adversity, told with refreshing candor and a touch of humor. Elizabeth’s story of resilience, independence, and the joy of having a seeing-eye pocketbook encourages the reader to explore ways, even if nontraditional, of confronting colossal challenges.
The story begins with Elizabeth receiving the devastating diagnosis of a degenerative eye disorder, and her doctors informing her that if the disease took the course expected, she would be blind by age forty. At the time, she was twenty-two. You join her on an emotional runaway train as her ability to see is stripped away.
Elizabeth's successful adjustment to losing her sight would have been a lovely ending to the story but fate held another big twist for her. After a decade of blindness, an unexpected encounter with a doctor brought Elizabeth startling news. A recently developed lens implant could possibly restore some vision. Big changes could be a' coming!
Post surgery, Elizabeth comes face-to-face with the passage of time. She recounts her Rip Van Winkle moments of suddenly being thrust, after many years, into a completely changed, tech-savvy world, filled with “smart” devices she has never seen. Her efforts to navigate this new world are at once mind-blowing and funny.
In this beautifully written and thoughtfully told account, Elizabeth Pizzarello gives us a fascinating glimpse of her journey into darkness and back to sight. Join her on this life-altering adventure.
Beth Pizzarello
"I had to make peace with what was happening to me."
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