The Point of Vanishing: A Memoir of Two Years in Solitude

from dele2451

The story of Axelrod's unusual accident and subsequent disassociation from modern society is poignant and soulful, the scientific tidbits about the human optic nerve are well-placed and extremely interesting, the descriptions of the New England forest engaging and beautifully wrought, and his acc...

from ksnider

The book is a memoir of a period in Mr Axelrod's life. The subtitle is a little misleading. Yes, it starts when he goes into the Vermont mountains to seek solitude and ends when he has been there about 2 years. But really the story begins when he loses his eye and then covers the next 7 or so yea...

from BradenAndrews

Howard (Howie) Axelrod was a Harvard student who had the optic nerve of his right eye severed during a pick up basketball game. The loss of vision was more devastating than he would initially admit, to himself or others. Ultimately he chose isolation, travelling first to Italy as part of a specia...

from AliciaClark23

I don't usually gravitate toward memoirs, but I really enjoyed this one. The author describes not only his 2 years living alone in a house in the woods, but what led him there and what led him out. I love his writing style. His descriptions are often beautiful and thought provoking. I love readin...

from ImperfectCJ

I received this book as an ARC through a LibraryThing giveaway. It doesn't come out until September, and I'm kind of tickled to get to read it so early.I initially entered the running for this book because it's out of Beacon Press and because it's about an escape similar to that which I've contem...