And There Was Light

Quick Look

• The classic inspirational autobiography of a survivor of the Second World War
• Jacques' touching and important memoir begins from his happy childhood running through the streets of Paris in the 1920s and ends shortly after the liberation of Buchenwald concentration camp in 1945
• One of the 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century according to HarperSanFrancisco

The remarkable and moving story of Jacques Lusseyran, a blind French resistance leader of the Second World War, who was incarcerated at Buchenwald concentration camp.

Description

Can we continue to embrace life, even through the hardest times? Jacques Lusseyran, a French underground resistance leader during the Second World War, is one of those rare, inspirational people whose joy for life endures more than the story of everything he overcame.

Jacques lost his sight in an accident when he was eight years old. At sixteen, he formed a resistance group in Nazi-occupied France, using his heightened senses to select the best recruits.

Eventually Jacques was arrested and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp. After a fifteen-month incarceration, Jacques was one of thirty to survive from an initial transport of two thousand resistance fighters.

The book that helped inspire All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, And There Was Light is the compelling and moving autobiography of a man who lost his sight and overcame incarceration and betrayal. But above that, it’s the story of Jacques' remarkable love for life.

Reviews

'One of the most powerful memoirs I’ve ever encountered.'
-- Ethan Hawke in The Village Voice

'One of the most extraordinary books I have ever read. It is why books are published at all.'
-- Mark Nepo, author of Seven Thousand Ways to Listen

'This is a remarkable true story by a remarkable man. This makes gripping reading and left me feeling uplifted and greatly strengthened.'
-- Stephanie Sorrell, New Vision

Author

Jacques Lusseyran (1924-1971) was born in France and lost his sight at eight years old. In World War II he founded a resistance movement in Paris during the German occupation of France. He moved to the United States in 1958 to teach at Hollins College, Florida. From 1969 until his sudden death, he was professor of European Languages at the University of Hawaii. He was the author of several books including And There Was Light and Against the Pollution of the I.

Links

Also by Jacques Lusseyran:
What One Sees Without Eyes (Out of Print)