Connecting Dots

The extraordinary memoir of a scientist who became blind at a young age—how he navigates his experience and channels his genius into decades of cutting-edge work in accessibility—packed with humor, adventure, and insights on life and disability. At the age of four, Joshua Miele was blinded and badly burned when a delusional neighbor poured sulfuric acid over his head in a crime that shocked New York. It could have ended his life, but instead, Miele—naturally curious, and a born problem solver—not only recovered, but thrived. Throughout his life, Miele has found increasingly inventive ways to succeed in a world built for the sighted, and to help others to do the same. At first reluctant to even think of himself as blind, he eventually embraced his blindness and became a committed advocate for disability and accessibility. Along the way, he grappled with drugs and addiction, played bass in a rock band, worked for NASA, became a guerilla activist, deconstructed and reconstructed myriad technologies, and married the love of his life and had two children. He chronicles the evolution of a number of revolutionary accessible technologies and his role in shaping them, including screen readers, tactile maps, and audio description. Connecting Dots delivers a captivating first-person perspective on blindness and disability as incisive as it is entertaining, and ultimately triumphant: In 2021 Miele won a MacArthur “Genius” award for his work in accessibility. His story demonstrates the normality of blindness as he lives, loves, invents, raises a family, and takes pride in his blind identity. It also introduces us to an extraordinary cast of characters, from his loving if eccentric family, to his rock-and-roll buddies and first loves, to the devoted teachers and brilliant colleagues whose encouragement and collaboration supported his success. It’s a riveting romp, interweaving tales of invention and independence with humor, struggle, and achievement —the story of one ordinary blind life with an indelible impact.