Adventures in Darkness: The Summer of an Eleven-year-old Blind Boy - Hardcover

Tom Sullivan, known to many as an actor, singer, entertainer, author, and producer was born prematurely in 1947 and given too much oxygen while in an incubator. Though it saved his life, it cost him his eyesight. Tom spent the early part of his career pursuing music and eventually gained national prominence with appearances on The Tonight Show, a major recording contract, and a steady stream of gigs in Las Vegas. From there he would head to TV as a special correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning America while guest starring in Designing Women, Highway to Heaven, Fame, M.A.S.H, Mork & Mindy, and WKRP in Cincinnati. Tom has been nominated twice for Emmy Awards, is the only living recipient of the Helen Keller Lifetime Achievement Award, has spoken at over three thousand corporations and universities and has written nine books for children, youth, and adults.

Sullivan, blind from birth, learned a lot at the Perkins School for the Blind. But as his 12th birthday approached, he desperately wanted to break out of his sheltered environment and live like other kids. His father, a hard-drinking Irish bookmaker and tavern owner, understood the boy's need to prove himself. So during the summer of 1959 he pushed his son to attempt the impossible—pitching in a Little League game, boxing the neighborhood bully—while Tommy took risks that appalled even his dad. Sullivan, an actor, musician and motivational speaker, knows how to spin a captivating yarn, and his can-do enthusiasm leaps off the page as he writes of "the unlimited capacity of the human imagination." Readers may wonder, however, if his talent for storytelling exceeds his recall: are there too many hair-raising but ultimately successful adventures for one short summer? Though an inspiring motivational book, especially for young readers, this is not remotely about "Tom's reliance upon God," as Nelson's marketing copy indicates. Sullivan learns to have faith in himself, not God, and the few lines of God talk in the last chapter and the epilogue sound like an afterthought. (Jan. 9)
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