Mobility Matters: Stepping Out in Faith (The Mobility Series)

Mobility Matters Stepping Out in Faith is a book for anyone;no matter who you are. The reader will gain insight into the life of someone who is visually impaired and some of the daily challenges. This book can be most helpful to people who are newly visually impaired and those struggling with the acceptance of learning to receive mobility training and the use of the white cane. It can also serve as an excellent resource for people diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa and other eye conditions, their family and friends, teachers and professors and religious leaders seeking to better understand people living with impaired sight as well as professionals in the field of blindness.What I enjoyed most was the author's honesty, sense of humor and spirituality. Sharing her own experiences and stories provides examples to all of us how our faith can be lived throughout each day in our life. Her conversations with God and how He provided the answers was most refreshing in a world where most people have forgotten to include God in daily life.Readers will discover that people living with a sight loss are just like those of us who can see but do things in a different way, using different techniques and devices.As a trained Orientation and Mobility Specialist I would encourage people experiencing sight impairments and even other instructors for the blind to step out in faith and read Mobility Matters by Amy Bovaird.

Amy Bovaird is a woman of faith in every sense of the word. Amy's struggles to overcome the obstacles, both physical and emotional, concerned with losing her sight and the honesty with which she relates her story make this a truly impressive read.The author is feisty and strong but has a vulnerable side to her as well, and I admired the way she described her feelings of anger, frustration, shame, and fear of rejection when dealing with all the implications of trying to maintain her career in the face of her growing disability. Nevertheless, she is an amazingly cheerful soul as well and I loved the way she could laugh at herself for things that would reduce many to tears. The book is lively, very well-written and rich in dialogue. There are also characters in the stories she relates that we become fond of: Bob, her insightful, brave and diligent trainer, Julio, her no-nonsense long-distance friend, Amy's mum, and very importantly, her lovely empathic dog, Buddy.Throughout the book, we laugh, cry and hurt with the author in her efforts to find her way around in an obstacle-ridden world. The author has an easy, fluent and appealing style and I found it a real page-truner. All in all, it is an immensely uplifting book and I would recommend it highly.

This is the author's own story of learning to navigate her new world of blindness, but it reads like fiction. Instead of playing the martyr, the author attacks her challenges with humor, making for several laugh out loud moments in the book. I learned a lot about what it takes to get around without sight, but the information is woven into the story so smoothly I didn't even realize I was learning. I was pleasantly surprised, and would recommend this book.

Mobility Matters is an inspirational memoir. The vignettes narrate in great detail the challenges a vision and hearing impaired person faces in life. While dealing with dual sensory loss is never easy, the author shares how she graciously deals with her many challenges in the classroom as a Spanish teacher as well as in daily life. Amy also shares the emotions, doubts and frustrations that get in the way even after deciding that she is ready to get the training needed to continue leading an independent life.This memoir was my first audiobook and I really enjoyed it. The narrator’s pace and animated tone make the stories easy to follow. The conversational writing style made me feel like a participant in the stories and allowed me to visualize the experiences narrated. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about Usher syndrome as well as to those dealing with vision and/or hearing challenges, or any other challenge for that matter. It can inspire and provide a guideline to persons newly diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa or Usher syndrome who may be unsure of what to do next. Parents of children diagnosed with these disorders will also find this memoir very helpful.The message that permeates throughout this work is that we cannot let fear take over, and facing what could be a disastrous situation with a little humor helps overcome that dread. The reader also learns that, in spite of the disadvantage of dual sensory loss, individuals like Amy can have a successful career and live a fulfilling and independent life through determination, perseverance and faith.

"Mobility Matters" details the journey of dealing with Retinitis Pigmentosa. This story describes the author's own life of traveling and loving what she did for a living, yet having to learn to deal with unexpected health issues which impacted how her lifestyle was going to move forward. Amy does a very good job of using descriptive terms, that many are not familiar with, to allow a reader to be pulled into her life and learn about this eye disease. To me, this is quite an impressive feat, as most medical terms are too technical to understand. The book was informative and provided a look at a woman whose faith in God allowed her to triumph victoriously, despite the challenges her genetics predisposed her. I highly recommend this to anyone who has faced questionable health deterioration in their own life, or a family's, to be inspired with a new perspective on their approach to life. She has great courage, a great heart, and a great attitude, as evident in her writing style. I can see why she is known by her peers and students, as a great teacher.

As someone who has been recently diagnosed with Ushers Syndrome, I was so happy when Amy shared this on a Facebook group as it was going for 99p that day. I loved reading about your journey and cane training. I am now starting my own long cane training but without sleep shades. This has made me smile and maybe cried a little. Definitely recommend it!

I was lucky enough to beta read Cane Confessions - the Memoir which follows this one - soon to be released. I wanted to read Mobility Matters - Well written - again, the Author hones in on her faith to help 'see' her through the challenges she faces - not only going blind but also hearing loss. It was an interesting read, poignant and again added humour. We are allowed to follow Amy Bovaird with her friends, her teaching and with her instructor who doesn't give Amy an easy-ride - setting her up with challenging tasks… I am very lucky in that I have no inclination on what this condition must feel like - again, I take my hat off to this Author.

Amy is finding it difficult to accept that her vision and hearing are becoming worse, so after much deliberation she decides to seek assistance.In this very moving , and sometimes amusing memoir, Amy tells of her determination to overcome her disability, while at the same time rebelling against it.I enjoyed the authors sense of humour and her strong faith in dealing with these issues, and am full of admiration for her.