A collection of diary entries, rather than a straightforward autobiography, however it was a very enlightening look at what happens when someone starts to go blind and how they adapt to it.

This is a great book. It gives real insight into what it can be like to lose your sight and covers all sorts of situations that perhaps, as a sighted person, you might not think about. John reflects on the fact that he 'saw' his first child, but not his youngest. He wonders whether his memory of the child's face is accurate as surely they will have changed over time. I'm paraphrasing here from my memory of the book, but the point is that this memoir is full of very personal, highly emotional reflections such as this.
The only negative for me was that the 'back story', that is John's biography and the story of how his sight deteriorates and is eventually lost, is covered in the 'Introduction to Touching the Rock'. Touching the Rock was the original title for this book and the introduction is placed at the end of Notes on Blindness. I felt it would have been better placed at the beginning as this is where you get the context of John's story and understand what has led him to become blind.
Nevertheless, Notes on Blindness is exceptionally well written and is a very moving and interesting account.