Thank you to NetGalley and Tarcherperigee for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.
(**Note: I did not provide a star rating or any kind of rating to this title in my actual reviews as I abandoned it. I have only provided a rating here on this site because I am required to do so.**)

I gave it up at 39%. It was a tedious three chapters and when I had the choice to continue reading with chapter 4 or jump ship, I jumped ship.

Lidsky is book smart and, while I don't think it was his intention, he wants everyone to know it. It's probably just how he speaks but it's not for me. I love a robust vocabulary but his sentences were full to overflowing with big words, exaggerated imagery, and pithy metaphors. It was very dense reading. Even his personal stories, in support of the point he was trying to make, were riddled with unrelatable language. In other words, Lidsky doesn't seem to be able to speak to the common person. At times it felt like I was reading a list of metaphors that are common to describe hard things and circumstances. None of it felt like it was genuine to Lidsky and his life.

I loved reading as I kid but struggle to find time as an adult. It’s often impossible to sit down to focus. While this book was not memorable overall, I’m sure it’s not you, dear book, it’s me.

3.5 stars. An interesting memoir about the obstacles faced from a man that lost his sight as a teenager. He faces many challenges while learning to cope and adapt. Unfortunately, I found some of his experiences uninteresting as it related to sports and poker - 2 things I have no interest in and don't know exactly what it would take to succeed (except sight). It's hard to feel for someone with a 'disability' when they use it to manipulate others. Overall, I didn't really like the author and the way he told his story.

Thought-provoking and fascinating, this book provides some keen insights. There's nothing new in it, but it's told from Lidsky's perspective. He's a brilliant man and, while some of his experiences may be hard for the average person to relate to, there are still great takeaways.

Isaac Lidsky shares his experience and what he discovered after losing his sight. Eyes wide open shares some pearls of wisdoms but you have to get thru some of the stories which I feel are too long and detailed. I speed thru the book and just focused on areas that I felt was a great perspective. It was a good attempt but not something I would recommend to my friends to read.

What do you do when you think a branch jumped out to hit you? When you're unintentionally walking into fire hydrants? What about when you're doing a media blitz because you're cast for a part in a television sequel and then the program doesn't get beyond the first season? How do you react when you're the only blind law clerk? Or you take over a construction company and learn its failing?
This and many more are circumstances that Isaac Lidsky encountered throughout his life. The main challenge he has had throughout all of it was slowly losing his sight due to an inherited disease in the eyes, retinitis pigmentosa. He has an impressive resume of high honors at Harvard University and Harvard Law School as well as editor of Harvard Law Review. Lidsky has spent his life learning to overcome the circumstances of losing his sight and never let that consume him, living life with his Eyes Wide Open.

In this book, Lidsky shares the struggles he's gone through and how he overcame them. He shares about how life as we know it is more than just what we see in front of us. We need to be more observant of what's behind what we think we see. How do you do that? It is important to notice if the words and facial expressions and tone all match up. It's important to ask questions and get reasonings behind each response. 
Lidsky goes into detail about our plans versus God's plan, acceptance versus surrender, how to measure your success, and having your ears and heart wide open as well. When you converse with others, there's more than what you see in front of you. There's a back story for responses and the why's behind everyone's answers or responses. It's a lifestyle of digging deeper into the responses people give you about anything.
Although it took me a while to read this book, I do highly recommend it. I'm not the same person after reading the words in Eyes Wide Open. It's not easy to have my eyes wide open in every situation, but it's a good practice at least a few times a day. An electronic copy of Eyes Wide Open by Isaac Lidsky was provided complimentary in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to review,

For most, this read is probably going to be wonderfully enlightening. My problem with many non-fiction books is that there is a lot of fluff material before they ever get to the real point of the subject matter (if they get to it at all). While I enjoyed the personal stories in the book, there really wasn't anything new in this book that hasn't already been written many times before.

This author overcame his blindness by succeeding in every part of life imaginable. He is truly an inspiration. And this book will leave you wanting more.

If you've never seen Isaac Lidsky's Ted Talk, stop right now and watch. It's 12 minutes long, and worth the investment. It'll also give you a good idea of what to expect from his book.

It took me a while to read Eyes Wide Open, though that has less to do with the book and more to do with my own time management skills. Lidsky writes well, with humor and grace, and it's almost like having a conversation with him. He's an inspiring man, that's for sure.

I appreciated that Lidsky doesn't hold back, but he also doesn't fall into melodrama. He's straightforward about his sight (and the loss of it), and then even more so about moving forward. Reading Eyes Wide Open, you really understand that while his experience shaped him, the lessons he learned are ones that can apply to all of us.

While this was a decent book, I feel that it was repetitive at times. I don't know how many times the author referenced the title of the book throughout the text. The books seemed choppy in parts jumping from one topic to another to another. The book didn't necessarily feel like a self-help book as much as a autobiography with some helpful tidbits thrown in at times to try to make the reader see things a little differently.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a advanced copy of the book.

Living your own three ring circus of life can be difficult, but it all depends on how you approach the ins and outs as well as the ups and downs. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Lidsky's outlook on life and am grateful that he chose to share his experiences. The book is written quite conversationally and it's really easy to read. I found myself wanting to share what I'd read, so I believe Eyes Wide Open would make an excellent book discussion selection.

Isaac Lidsky is a truly amazing, intelligent, inspiring person who has a wide range of accomplishments personally and professionally. However I am not sure the book shows that off to the fullest extent.

The best parts of the book are the sidebars, the personal stories of his life and his work. I would have preferred the entire book instead to be an autobiography about him. There is a lot of writing about obstacles and perception of them but not a lot on how to actually improve behaviors and viewpoints.

Again, the book is strong during the personal stories and that made it interesting.

Who doesn't need help overcoming obstacles? Recognizing opportunities, who'd ever want to miss one of those ? I expected the usual self help guide with steps examples and mantras to follow. I got a memoir with real life experiences. The author dealt with blindness slowing becoming one of his realities. In this books he bravely walks his reader through his fails, wins, stumbles, and triumphs over himself and his awakening to what is real not an illusion. His going blind, forced him to focus on other parts of life and judge them with a clearer vision. He had to reevaluate his actions, finding very surprising reasoning behind them.
I respect this mans journey and his strength to open his world to help others. I got some excellent points to work on for opening my own eyes. Truly listening is a big one I struggle with. "Tell it to my like I'm a 5 year old" His made a comment about how we listen only to react. I had that gasp moment, yes that is sadly true. I've been working on this and it is a hard one to break. the mind/ego wants to wander and dominate the conversation. For me this is the most important lesson I got from the book. I'm a work in progress. While I didn't get what I expected from this book based on the title I did get at least one great thing from it. I suspect each person will pick their own lesson to grab ahold of or maybe all of them ?

Isaac Lidsky is an amazing man, and his story is an amazing one as well. Learning at 13 that he and his sisters would all go blind due to retinitis pigmentosa, and becoming completely blind by age 25 were hard pills to swallow. And yet he had no choice, not in what would happen to his sight. But at a young age, he realized that his life, and the quality of his life, was his responsibility, no one else's. Playing a victim would get him nowhere. Taking accountability and responsibility for his choices, his reactions, and his actions would take him far indeed. Mr. Lidsky went on to have multiple careers, each of which would be deemed huge successes by anyone's standards. This man has lessons to teach because he LIVED them. He struggled with fear, self-doubt, self-worth, critics, circumstances. He learned to question each situation as to whether it really was a problem or a misconception/misperception, and addressed it accordingly. With eyes, mind and heart wide open, he lives a life of his making and one to be envied. He lives a life of joy!

I have the utmost respect for Isaac Lidsky, and thank him for sharing his story with us. He helped reshape my thinking on some things I'm encountering and for that alone, I am grateful! My book is highlighted throughout, and I've placed it in my "Keepers" collection for future reference.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Penguin Group for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this fantastic book!

Wonderful inspiring book! Fear is in all of us! I will be reccomending this to all my friends.

Great balance of personal story and philosophical lessons. Lidsky encourages thinking "eyes wide open," creating new options through seeing life a different way. I initially thought it was a bit idealistic, but warmed up as he went on. Good read for anyone wanting to expand their mindset or try new things.

This book is a personal story more than it is a self help book. Lidsky writes, “The strong man leads by example and teaches by sharing his experiences.” (931/3153) I think this is what he has attempted in this book. He shares personal accounts of his fears and overcoming them. He writes about his self limiting assumptions and how he overcame them.

The book was not what I had anticipated. He initially wrote that he was going to help readers know how to view challenges as well as face struggles. He lets us know how he did it but did not offer any practical instruction on how we are to do it. He said he would help us evaluate goals and achievements but I did not see any organized suggestions as to how to do that either.

Most of the book is about him. He is a talented man who has learned how to manage his life well while being blind. He has certainly embraced life. This would be a good book for readers who are inspired by the successes of another person. Perhaps others will be inspired by reading about how Lidsky's father got them into super bowl games by bribing, counterfeiting, etc. I just wondered why he included that section in this book. His story about the birth of their triplets was a good one. I wish there had been some practical instruction along with it.

His is an inspiring story. Lidsky may truly think that he teaches by sharing his experiences. I would have preferred a more organized motivational instruction.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

4.5 stars, actually. First and foremost, I'll describe this book as a brief autobiography of a remarkably talented and successful individual. From the first page to the last, I was captivated and amazed at what the author has accomplished. Beyond that, I couldn't agree more with his premise that "Your life is not happening to you. You are creating it...tell yourself that others control your choices and you will choose not to choose."

He should know. He and his two sisters were born with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease of the retina, which was diagnosed when he was 13 years old. By age 25, his eyesight was totally gone. Instead of bemoaning what he no longer could see, though, he concentrated on controlling his own destiny. In this book, he describes how others can do the same.

Much of that process, he says, comes with the realization that we don't see with our eyes, but rather with our brains. "Living with your eyes open and living eyes wide open are very different," he posits - and outlines how readers can follow his example. The most meaningful take-away for me, I think, is that, "You will never control tomorrow, but you can always choose whether to act today, and how."

Each chapter has a different focus. Chapter 2, for instance, deals with tackling fear in the midst of crisis (I can only imagine how terrified I'd be at the mere thought of losing my eyesight); Chapter 4 discusses the elusive line between "acceptance" and "surrender." Interspersed throughout are pearls of wisdom such as (one of my favorites), "When you assess your self-worth with reference to the judgments of others, you make a fundamental and costly mistake...you will never find self-esteem in others' eyes."

Everything is laid out in an orderly, easy-to understand fashion, although the explanations in a couple of spots were so complex that by the time I finished reading I'd forgotten what the point was (that said, keep in mind that at my grandmotherly age and keep-the-show-on-the-road Aries mentality, I tend to have the attention span of a flea). I'd also expect that outer-directed folks who believe the world is conspiring against them and there's nothing they can do to change things won't get it at all.

As for me, I found the book uplifting, motivating and well crafted. I thank the author and publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

The first sentence In this strong, meaningful, and skillfully written book titled, EYES WIDE OPEN by Isaac Lidsky, grabbed me as I grasped the opportunity to gather knowledge, or become aware of how blindness, not only can, but does effect a lot of people. The title itself showed a true meaning also. The author not only opened my eyes, he opened my heart with with this all inspiring book. He also asked these two questions that I like and thought a lot on. "How do you want to live your life? Who do you want to be?" Those are two very good questions worth thinking about. We can have our eyes wide open and gaze at an obstacle in our way, but yet are unable to see what might be in front of us, behind us, or way ahead of us. Does that stop us from stumbling and falling all over ourselves? let this book be an inspiration to us all and help us to be able to see clearly not only through our minds, but also through our hearts when and if our sight is slowly being taken away. Does that also mean we must take other steps in order to be able to get on with our lives? Does that blindness stop us from having that vision beyond our view? A very inspiring and interesting read.

As I read Eyes Wide Open, all I could think about was how not a day in my life to come will I ever complain about anything that I can't do. That word will be completely erased from any possibilities that I even hesitate to attempt. This is the type of book that I hope would be the catalyst for any ambitions that you have been held back by whether it was fear or lack of confidence to see that there is literally nothing that can hold you back to achieving the life you want but yourself.

We, those who are fortunate to have all their senses functional, take for granted what we have. In so many lives, we are limited, held back or just don't to work towards achieving goals just because. When you have people like Isaac, who gradually lost his sight to blindness and has led the life he has, there is no excuse for anyone for any reason, at any time.

I'm truly moved and inspired by his candor, his introspective acceptance towards his limitations but at the same time not allowing it to cripple his life. This insightful book gives readers a voice and perspective that needs to be heard and his experience to be seen a triumph not a tragedy. Losing his sight at such a prime age and contemplating such loss, as Joel Osteen would say he became “a victor, not a victim.” He found love, graduated from Harvard, worked as a clerk for the Supreme Court and revitalized a business that led to such great success.

Eyes Wide Open, is thought provoking, insightful drawing on his experience giving some great advice on how to overcome our obstacles. Reading this book through his perspective will definitely give you some food for thought and hopefully broaden your mind to endless possibilities and a renewed spirit for hope.