Gripped with the terrifying fear that she wouldn't be able to see her two young daughters grow up, would become a burden to her husband, and would lose the career and independence that defines her, Ingrid embarks on a quest to fix her eyes that ends up fixing her life. She has also ghostwritten several memoirs and has shared stories from her childhood on Salon and NPR.From the Author of the New York Times bestseller Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story 'A strong addition to any contemporary memoir collection.' - Midwest Book Review At the age of 37, Ingrid Ricks walked into an eye doctor's office expecting to walk outt with a cute pair of red cat-eye frames-only to learn she suffered from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare, incurable eye disease that was stealing her eyesight and would eventually leave her completely blind. Ingrid’s books include the coming-of-age memoir, Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story, and Focus, a memoir about her journey with the blinding eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa. She uses her journey with her blinding eye disease to spotlight the strength and resilience that can emerge from adversity and change harmful perceptions and attitudes heaped on people living with challenges shoved under the disabilities label. She has also given keynote addresses to audiences ranging from college students to leaders in the business and government sectors on Harnessing Adversity and Rethinking the Disabilities Label. Ingrid, who views personal storytelling as the key to healing and unity in today’s divided world, regularly presents her Healing Through Personal Narrative workshops in partnership with organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest, and has delivered keynote talks on the subject to educators and social workers across the country. Over the past seven years, she has helped more than 2,000 students of every age find healing and empowerment by writing the deeply personal stories they needed to tell, and has produced seven anthologies in partnership with high schools to raise awareness about the serious challenges today’s youth face. Ingrid Ricks is an NYT-bestselling author, writing coach, inclusion activist and inspirational speaker who is passionate about leveraging personal storytelling to foster healing, awareness, empathy and change.

Hippie Boy by Ingrid Ricks