Customer Reviews

And There Was Light

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Startling in its intelligence, moral power, and sheer beauty, this text is a treasure for both the seasoned wise and the passionate young. Lusseyran was a man of rare talent and courage; his untimely death in 1971 saw the loss of one of Earth's freest and wisest souls. May our children and our children's children have the privilege of reading his remarkable story.

It shows that we all, by remaining open and without fear, can remain in touch with the Light within. I admire J L tremendously, as a writer, a poet, a spiritual person, an antinazi, and an all around good guy.

This book was recommended to me in 1970 by Marshall McLuhan. He was greatly impressed by this book, as was I. Lusseyran's experience with the human voice was particularly intriguing. I tried to contact him at the university, but he had left. Does anyone know what happened to him?

Upon becoming blind at 8 years of age, Jacques Lusseyran discovered a deep inner joy that henceforth illuminated his entire life and never left him, not even in the horror and despair of Buchenwald. He was a daring, courageous French Resistance fighter who taught people not just to see but also to experience that life beyond all life and that joy that surpasses all human understanding. Even the evil of Nazism sweeping throughout France could not dim this ever-shining light. Jacques lived life to the fullest every moment of his waking hours with an enthusiasm that is astonishing, energizing, and almost unbelievable. To read this book is discover anew that light which the darkness has never been able to extinguish.

And There Was Light has been a major inspiration in my life and I have read it over several times. In addition to his astonishing discovery of his ability to "see" without eyes, there is the fact that the author and his friends were sixteen year old schoolboys when, with Jacques as their leader, they formed their own resistance movement to the Nazi occupation, risking their lives to fight the evil that had taken over their country. This book can serve as a powerful antidote, specifically for adolescents, to the apathy, narcissism, disconnection, and despair that currently plagues our culture. It is the most unique, surprising, and riveting "coming of age" memoir I have ever read.

I used it as required reading for a senior English class I taught a few years back. The majority of students in this class were bright enough but unmotivated in the extreme. This was the first book I was able to find that engaged and inspired even the most reluctant of these students. Students who had stubbornly refused to read anything else of the literature I tried to tempt them with actually read and expressed real appreciation for this book. It engaged them right away, in the first chapter.

No matter what age you are, read this book. If you have an adolescent child or friend, give them this book as a gift. If they don't read it on their own, read it aloud to them and talk with them about it. If you are a high school English or History teacher, first read it and then consider including this book in your syllabus. Young people need to hear this amazing story, and get to know this amazing human being. As do we all.