Susanna Zaraysky was born with strabismus, had surgeries as a child and started vision therapy at age 32. She has gained 3D vision, and while it isn’t perfect, her view of the world has been opened and reached new heights!
She is a language genius which I find so fascinating. Her lack in vision lead to a gift with language. She has learned to speak eight languages fluently with wonderful accents including French, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Bosnian, and Ladino and English. For her, learning a new language is like learning a song.
In her book she relates her story, the struggles and triumphs related to her vision, but her magic with language comes through as well.
In “One-Eyed Princess,” the reader can connect with the struggles and triumphs of a fellow strabismus warrior. Grab a Kleenex and enjoy!
The side effects of vision therapy were quite crippling especially at the beginning of her journey and she goes into detail about what she went through and how people were able to help her through the struggle. Tasks like driving became near impossible and she felt very isolated.
Having strabismus took a major emotional toll on her, but she learned to advocate for herself and overcome the struggles that she faced. Anyone with strabismus will relate to her story!
“I felt as though my whole life had just turned upside down. why hadn’t my doctors told me earlier that I was unable to see a dimension of life that sounded like it made life look fuller and richer? Why hadn’t they told me that vision exercises might help me?”
Susanna Zaraysky- One-Eyed Princess
She puts into words that devastating moment when we realize that our vision is not where it could be. It is hard to understand for those with normal vision and reading about someone else’s experience felt both validating and refreshing.
I recommend this book to anyone with strabismus who is going through vision therapy.