By Faith, Not By Sight: The Inspirational Story of a Blind Prodigy, a Life-Threatening Illness, and an Unexpected Gift [Hardcover]

Scott MacIntyre (Author), Jennifer Schuchmann (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2012

A moving story of hope, faith, persistence and the power of dreams.

A piano prodigy, a nineteen-year-old college grad, a Marshall scholar, and an American Idol finalist. This guy had it made. He could sing.

He could ski blind. What couldn’t he do?

Even if you saw him in concert, you might not believe that Scott MacIntyre is blind, and you’d never guess that at nineteen, he faced a diagnosis that rocked his family and nearly took his life.

So how did he do it? How did he overcome the odds?

This is Scott’s story, but he’d be the first to tell you that it’s not really about him. This is the story of how God used a dedicated family, a selfless acquaintance, hardship, and a host of characters to give him life, faith, determination, and experiences most can only imagine.

Peek behind the scenes to see how he learned to overcome his disability, how he made it in the music industry, how he found the love of his life, and how God taught him that in all things, we can truly achieve our dreams By Faith, Not by Sight.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“What we’ve seen on camera just scratches the surface. Scott’s moving story will inspire everyone who reads it.”
—Michael W. Smith, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

About the Author

Scott MacIntyre captivated the nation as the first blind finalist on American Idol. As an acclaimed singer-songwriter, he has toured in arenas across North America, headlined concerts in Japan, Austria, England, Canada, and the US, and written and released his latest CD Heartstrings debuting at #18 on the iTunes Pop Album Chart. As an in-demand inspirational keynote speaker, Scott has shared his unique and dynamic life story with many different audiences.

Jennifer Schuchmann is the host of the television program Right Now with Jennifer Schuchmann on WATC-TV Atlanta and the coauthor of One Call Away with Brenda Warner. She holds an MBA from Emory University and has an extensive public speaking background. Jennifer and her husband, David, have been married for over twenty years, and together they have a teenage son, Jordan. You can find her online at wordstothinkabout.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849947219
• ISBN-13: 978-0849947216
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.2 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (142 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #830,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The relentless pursuit April 23, 2012

By Dawn

Format:Hardcover

Scott MacIntyre is a budding young musician in the process of gaining a name for himself in the pop Christian music industry. As a part of that agenda, this book is his candid first-person account at 27 years of age of what it's been like so far. Born all but blind into a musical family, he discovered the piano as a toddler, was found to have perfect pitch and was enrolled in lessons early on. As a homeschooler, he excelled academically and began university at the age of 14, winning a scholarship to study music in a prestigious London college. As an accomplished classical pianist he switched to songwriting and pop music-- his first love. This would seem remarkable enough for a nearly blind person without the added challenge of kidney failure in the midst of pursuing his dreams. His story becomes a saga interweaving the challenges of blindness, the trials of dialysis and getting a kidney transplant, and the relentless pursuit of a reputation as a singer/songwriter. Throughout each of these he demonstrates a strong and practical faith in a personal God who is 'for him'.

Scott's book is an education on 'seeing life' from a blind person's vantage point. It illustrates the trials of kidney disease. And it portrays close-up the high intensity life of a touring singer/songwriter. It underlines the necessity of having good teachers and mentors and others willing to make sacrifices along the way to insure one's success. But the real hero of the book stands in the wings. Scott's mom was the wind in his sails and the hero who gave her life energies for his success from the very beginning. His brother and blind sister and father also lived sacrificially for his success. His is a story of the importance of family to an individual's fulfilling their dreams.

Although I enjoyed the personal interest and faith aspects of his story and the way it opened up the world of musicians, the blind and those with kidney disease, I confess I found the emphasis on competition and fame tiring. An inside look at the fierce competitive world of the American Idol industry and Scott's own climb to 'fame' takes up ten of the final chapters of the book. While an American Idol "wanna-be" or other devotees to this world of rising stardom would perhaps find his detailed account of interest, it came across as an egotistical attempt to 'sell himself' to new fans. In light of his youth, the book could have been considerably shortened from its 271 pages. It closes with his marriage, which is really only the beginning of a lifetime of challenges.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through the BookSneeze blogger's program in exchange for an honest review.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational March 26, 2012

By Jamie

Format:Hardcover

I remember watching Scott MacIntyre on American Idol a few years ago. I was impressed that he could play the piano so well despite the fact that his sight was extremely limited; I can't say that I remember his voice all that well. What I didn't know was that he was a very accomplished musician before American Idol; having performed at the Kennedy Center and studied music in London. I was also unaware that shortly before he began his American Idol journey, he almost lost his life when he went into kidney failure. This book tells Scott's story, in his own words, from childhood through his American Idol journey and beyond. It also shares the story of a family with a deep faith relying on God to provide and meet them where they were.

I really enjoyed learning more of Scott's story; it was so much richer than they were able to share during his time on American Idol. I was inspired by his family's faith and their encouragement of Scott's gift. Though the story was interesting, it seemed a bit long-winded at times. In fact, the book comes in somewhere around 280 pages. Despite that, learning more about Scott and his desire to bless people with his music was inspiring. I have a new admiration for him and look forward to hearing more from him in the future.

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of this book was provided for this review. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars By Faith, Not By Sight March 23, 2012

By Kato

Format:Hardcover

Taking liberty to twist the words of Scott MacIntyre, his book is a story, like a song it has highs and lows, a beginning middle and end, emotions and shades of colour tweaked to create the best possible experience for the reader. It sounded like he was in my living room sharing his life's tale. Oh! What a tale it is.
This book is a wonderful exposition of the verse 2 Corinthians 5:7, "we live by faith, not by sight". It's a narrative we would all relate with cause many a time it feels and looks like when we are on the verge of experiencing incredible success, that's when trials knock on our door and enter in without giving us a chance to respond with "wait!!!" or "not now" or "come back later".
Scott MacIntyre is an ordinary guy but what makes him an inspiration to so many is that he surpassed insurmountable odds by taking a leap of faith in God. He felt fears everyday but he chose to face them dead in the eye because only by facing his fears would he have the chance of conquering them. He stepped out of his comfort zone with the effervescent encouragement of his loving parents. We are able to see what immense impact great teachers have on a child. We all need someone to believe in us, someone outside the protective circle of family (ie mom and dad). Who better to do so than a teacher? He has learned the lesson most of us shy away from - that it is okay to make a mistake.
Due to his disability (blindness), he has had to trust in people more than most. I join him in gratitude for Patricia who gave a piece of herself so Scott could continue giving himself to others. It reminds me of what Christ did on the cross, he gave himself up for us all that we may live life in abundance.