This post is primarily for my friends who are blind, but my sighted friends are also welcome to read on.

For almost a year, I’ve been trying to make my book available on talking book, a service of the National Library for the Blind. And today, I am thrilled to announce that it has finally made it to the list of from which books you can choose. The DB number on BARD is 91261.

Here’s the back story. I should have called a friend who works there in the first place, but when I called the NLS, they told me I had to first have it recorded by the Ohio Library for the Blind. Will Reed, who runs that program said they wouldn’t do it, and he named several reasons, all of which I turned around and told him they were the very reasons it should be recorded. He didn’t budge, but in this process, I learned to argue and stick up for what I thought was right. It was important to me to have my book available on talking book, so my friends who are blind could borrow it, just like my sighted friends who can borrow it from their local library. Of course there is only one copy available in the whole Columbus system, and that’s the one I donated, but again, it was more important to me to have people read it than to make a couple of dollars.

Next, I forwarded Reed’s letter and my response to my contact at NLS, and she made sure a copy got into the right hands for decision-making. It’s been a long struggle, but I feel like celebrating, because it’s now accessible to everyone. Thanks for spreading the word. And if you need more information about the talking book program, write to me off line, and I’ll be glad to tell you all about it.

Mary Hiland

Mary.hiland@wowway.com

www.seeingitmyway.com

Author of “The Bumpy Road to Assisted Living A Daughter’s Memoir”

Available at Amazon.com or

Dldbooks.com/maryhiland