Former McMinnville resident Pam (Watts) Harris has released her first non-fiction book targeted to people new to vision loss and their family and friends.

“Learning to Live with Vision Loss” chronicles Harris’ journey to legal blindness due to advanced myopic macular degeneration as she shares strategies and information about how to cope with a new normal.

“When I lost all my central vision and was told there was nothing they could do, I didn’t know where to turn,” Harris said. “It took a couple years to learn how to manage daily tasks. The most important step was reaching out to The Star Center in Jackson, but my husband and I have learned on our own by researching online.”

Some of the strategies she details in the book include using tactile dots to use household appliances and installing special lighting in the home. She describes various assistive technologies that enable her to do things as simple as write a note in a card to someone or read a recipe.

“When word spread about my vision loss, friends reached out to me about their family members or friends who were having low-vision issues,” she said. “Several came to our home to try out the devices I use, and I had the idea of forming a local support group. We meet quarterly and share what we’ve discovered as well as share our experiences. People who do not have vision loss cannot understand what it’s like, so it’s refreshing to be with others who understand. Not only that, it’s helpful to our family members who now have extra responsibilities because we can no longer drive.”

Harris describes the emotional impact of vision loss and how she and others have handled it. “When I talk about vision loss, the sighted community is confused by the term. I explain the difference in vision loss and legal blindness as well as how some of us see.”

According to Harris’ research, age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of legal blindness among older adults with glaucoma placing second worldwide. “Legal blindness means you can’t see the big ‘E’ on the Snellen chart, even with glasses,” she said. “But it can also mean you have a small field of vision. Most people have a 90 degree field of vision, but someone with 20 degrees or less is also considered legally blind. Only 10 to 15 percent of people classified as blind have no light perception at all. Eighty-five to 90 percent have some sight. The problem is it’s not enough to function normally without help.”

Harris has been a patient of Mid-South Retina of Jackson for 16 years. “About one-third of their patients have diabetic retinopathy, another third age-related macular degeneration, and a third with a variety of conditions.”

The macula, she said, is what gives people the ability to see detail and enables them to read, see people’s faces, drive and other daily activities. “You don’t see with your eyes,” she said. “You see with your brain. My doctor explained to me that the retina is brain tissue, and the photoreceptors in a layer of the retina capture images. In my case, the photoreceptors are dying, meaning that layer is disintegrating, I guess. But with age-related macular degeneration, scarring and something called drusen rob people of their central vision.”

“Learning to Live with Vision Loss” by Pam Watts Harris is available on Amazon as a large-print paperback for $5.99 or as an e-book for $2.99. The e-book is available for free until June for Kindle Unlimited customers.

“I think the book is especially beneficial for family members of those struggling with vision issues,” she said. “You can read the book in about an hour and a half, so it’s really short. I have included a list of resources at the end of the book, but I encourage family members to research on your own to discover what’s best for your loved one.”

In addition to the in-person support group that meets quarterly, Harris is the administrator for a Facebook group identified as West Tennessee Low Vision Support Group and invites anyone interested, no matter their place of residence, to request to join, including sighted family members. “New technologies were being created even as I wrote the book,” she said. “There is no way anyone could write an all-inclusive book because improvements and inventions are being made daily. So as we learn about those things, we share them. Our in-person support group is very upbeat. Sure, we share our frustrations, but we laugh a lot too. And you should see how excited we get when someone brings a new aid that we didn’t know about.”

For more information about the support group or the book, she may be contacted through her Facebook page, Pam Harris, “blind” writer.