Girl in the Dark: A Memoir by Anna
Lyndsey
You know the saying “misery loves
company?” I hate to admit it but it’s oh
so true. As I was getting ready to have
surgery I started this book and finished it the day after I left the hospital. Yes, I was in a lot of pain and extremely
weak, but I can go to the hospital if I need to, something the author of this
book is unable to do.
Anna was working as a civil servant
in London when she started to get a burning sensation on her face. After some time away from work the feeling
faded. For some strange reason her face
seemed to have become allergic to the light coming from computer screens and
the florescent bulbs in her office. Shortly
after this discovery she leaves her life in London to move in with her
boyfriend in a much more rural area.
Things slowly get worse. The
burning moves from her face to her entire body.
On the days she can go out at dusk or dawn she wears multiple layers of
clothing to keep the light out. And it
isn’t only florescent light that irritates her skin, over time any type of
light causes her to burn.
Yes, Anna sometimes breaks down in
despair of all the life she is missing.
She spends months in almost complete darkness listening to audiobooks to
pass the time. But occasionally things
get better and she can stroll at twilight.
She sets up a mirror in the living room so she can watch the reflection of
the television and watch The Apprentice
with her boyfriend. She manages to make
it through her own wedding.
Anna also addresses the frustration
and idiocy surrounding her quest to find help.
There is a clinic that studies light sensitivity in London and they
would love to see her when she’s feeling better. She hasn’t been able to go out in daylight
for the five years she records in the writing of this book. No one from the clinic or anywhere else will
come to visit her. She lives in fear of
injury and illness since a doctor’s office or hospital would be toxic to her
skin.
If you are in a time of your life
where things seem to be going badly this is the book you need for a reality
check. Your life is amazing. Look out the window and watch the world go by
before your eyes. Read a book. Walk outside and feel the sun on your
face. All these are little wonderful
things this author rarely gets to experience.
Read this book and find out how someone with such a hampered existence
finds joy and also how great your life is right now.
