Helen Lavinia Underwood Reveals MORE THAN THE EYE CAN SEE

In More Than the Eye Can See, author Helen Lavinia Underwood presents a unique and moving memoir that chronicles a wonderful friendship between two women who are as different as night and day but who each finds in the other a kind of fulfillment of soul. This book is the heartwarming story of Helen and her friend Thelma, and all the beautiful memories they created together during their young, carefree days. It is a story of friendship, acceptance, compassion and growth.

Readers are introduced to the two young women, one is sighted and one is blind. They live together as roommates in a small Southern college during the "peaches and cream" '50s. Helen, the sighted student, reluctantly becomes reader to her blind roommate, Thelma. What starts as a hesitant duty blossoms into a deep and wonderful friendship. Helen becomes Thelma's eyes as she describes surroundings, textures, colors and shadows. She lets the latter "see" the beauty and wonder of the world, focusing especially on stars, twilight, sunrises and sunsets. Thelma helps Helen "see" that there is much to learn beyond physical sight. Their rich and insightful views of life are both refreshing and sweet. The reader is invited to "see" beauty in what is all too often considered imperfections.

A letter dated June 23, 1957, the author's wedding day, turns up in a box of keepsakes in 2012. Written by the blind roommate as a paean to their college life together, Helen realizes she has never read the letter-and certainly never responded to it. This realization prompts her to weave a response that is both poignant and humorous, and oftentimes, evocative. It is her long overdue response to a good friend who has been so much a part of her life.

In More Than the Eye Can See, readers will be able to experience a wonderful friendship that flourished amid differences. They may also gain new insights into the world of blind people and learn to recognize that life, for them as indeed for all of us has two edges: laughter and anguish.

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About the Author
Helen Lavinia Underwood is a native of Madison County, Alabama. She has taught writing at both the secondary and college levels, and holds degrees from Martin Methodist College, Middle Tennessee State University, and Rutgers University. More Than the Eye Can See is her first memoir. She has published two previous novels with Xlibris, The House of Lakshmi Chatterjee (2011), and Under Cedar Shades (2008). A published poet, she has also written numerous short stories. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband Joel. They are the proud parents of three and the doting grandparents of seven.

More Than the Eye Can See * by Helen Lavinia Underwood
A Memoir
Publication Date: July 29, 2013
Trade Paperback; $15.99; 182 pages; 978-1-4836-7189-5
Trade Hardback; $22.99; 182 pages; 978-1-4836-7190-1
eBook; $3.99; 978-1-4836-7191-8

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