This was an excellent memoir about David Tatel, a judge who spent 30+ years on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (and who also happens to be blind). In the opening paragraph, Tatel points out that readers may have picked up this book to hear about Vixen, his guide dog from the front cover (guilty as charged). But this it Tatel's memoir, not Vixens. It is a fascinating tale that kept me engaged from the start. Tatel's story is filled with unique experiences from joining his physicist father on scientific field work trips, to working on pro bono civil rights cases in the 50s and 60s, to judging many high profile and impactful cases in the D.C. Circuit, and finally to the partnership with Vixen. I could not put this book down and ended up reading it in just two sittings.

I learned a lot in reading this book, not just about the way the U.S. judicial system works but also about people and about how our experiences shape our view of the world. In his case, Tatel highlights how being blind enabled him to see things (for lack of a better term) about a case that his fellow judges did not. Even when he was in denial about his blindness, it shaped his very being. As someone who has raised more than ten puppies for a guide dog organization, I expected to be moved by the parts of this book that touched on the impact a guide dog can have (and we get that very nicely in the last chapter). But I did not expect how interested and compelling I found Tatel's work in the courts and other life experiences.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for providing an eARC of this book.

I found Judge David Tatel's memoir, Vision, to be a testament to the psychological effect of recency, which sees the brain prioritize what it last experiences. Judge Tatel, who retired from the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit after a nearly twenty-year tenure, who progressively and tragically lost his vision in the prime of his legal career because of an inherited retinal condition, succumbed to two irresistible temptations of memoir writers: the compulsion to opine on issues outside the scope of the book, and cloyingly excessive self-deprecation. After the last chapter, my heart had melted.

Judge Tatel movingly discusses wrestling with whether to commit the story of his life to a book. He came to peace with the idea of doing so as atonement for failing publicly to have allowed his stratospheric career, earlier in his life, to be used as an exemplar of what was possible for the blind. This aspect of his self-deprecation cannot fail to strike the reader as authentic. It is a useful reminder that there once was a time when illness and disability were sources of shame, not worth for their own sake, and someone who succeeded in spite of his handicap wished merely to be seen as one of his peers. Those days have since been replaced with menageries of self-diagnoses in Twitter (auto)bios.

Which is better? Public display of disability at the risk of encouraging a grotesque celebration of difference? Or enduring disability silently, stoically, creating its own risk of letting down those with similar disabilities, failing to cast them lifelines of hope as they drown in despair? I don't think that a correct answer to this question exists. Judge Tatel feels differently. As a young man, he wanted to be a lawyer, not a blind lawyer. And so Vision is a heartbreaking apology for not having sooner followed the first path.

Why had my brittle, frozen heart melted after the last chapter? The author dedicates the last chapter to his introduction to and beautiful friendship with his service German Shepherd, Vixen. Readers such as your humble correspondent heretofore unacquainted with the intelligence and loyalty of these dogs – when the judge approaches a place where it is not safe to walk, Vixen rotates 90 degrees and makes a wall of herself so that he can proceed no further – will consume this last part in total awe.
Reflecting that this book almost did not exist makes the experience reading it that much more pleasurable.

This memoir takes you on a journey of a man on his way to becoming a judge who has lost his vision.

The stories about his fascinating family history was a highlight. So many adventures, inventions and sometimes tragedy.

This is an intelligent read about family, obstacles and learning to overcome anything standing in your path.

I think that anyone who has a sociology or a legal background will really enjoy this book. I was a sociology major as an undergraduate and a paralegal for over a decade and I found it all very fascinating. The author has a passion for civil rights which appeals to both sides of the coin and he is an example of one of the highlights of our judicial system.

I love when he talks about his struggles coming to terms with going blind. One of my favorite scenes with encounters with people is when the man doesn't need to be asked to help and the author doesn't want to ask for help either. The man just helps and treats him no different than anyone else he would lend a hand to.

I loved hearing that there are so many resources out there now for people that are blind that can help with so many things even for those who are alone. One of the most interesting parts of the book was when you hear how blind people are discriminated against for having a seeing eye dog with them. Vixen was denied even getting in the car for a popular transport service. It was against the law for them to do this and luckily the author was the passenger who turned a terrible situation into a legal win for others who find themselves in the same situation.

Since I do write my blog with a focus on stories or biographies with dogs in them, I feel I do need to mention that the dog, Vixen, is mentioned periodically throughout the book but is only given a chapter fully dedicated to her. However, it is a chapter filled with a lot of information on the process of getting a guide dog and contains so much affection for a dog that became such a huge part of the author's life. It is clear that he loves her. As a longtime female shepherd owner, it warms my heart to see how someone who can't see can so accurately see how special they are. They are intuitive and they are amazing. Just like everything else this author sees with passion and humility, his awe of the depth of the skills that these dogs possess will touch your heart if you are familiar with the breed as well. "Dogs bring people together." I couldn't agree more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is an interesting book that shows a behind the scenes view of how the Court of Appeals works and how Tatel dealt with his vision loss. I mostly wanted to read this because of his blindness and his service dog. But the background of his whole professional career was fascinating.

Update: Finished. Very informative regarding the Judicial branch of the government. I feel that I had a front row to how the process works. A couple things that stood out were that in 1968 David Tatel crafted an amicus brief arguing that "America's greatest domestic problem" was racial discrimination. Then even in 2021 cases regarding Arizona voting laws that disproportionately impacted the state's Black, Hispanic and Native American voters were still being brought to the Supreme Court.

One of the things that author David Tatel stressed is the importance of getting out to vote. And better yet, volunteer to help with your local elections and/or assist with bringing folks to the polls.

At 25%, I enjoy memoirs … and Vision is very educational thus far.

Thank you to author Judge Tatel, NetGalley and publisher Little, Brown and Company for approving my request to read the advance read copy of Vision in exchange for an honest review. 352 pages. Publication date is June 11, 2024.

This was an outstanding book. I learned so much about judgeship and, in particular, Judge Tatel. I would love to interview him. I assume Vixen isn't available for comment.