This volume contains 140 minute poems: short word pictures of my personal journey through vision loss. While every poem is anchored in the theme of blindness, the poems inexplicably rise above that disability label. Many poems are upbeat while others are quite sad. Some share incidents that are well-known by those in my world while others speak of things I have never communicated to another living soul. The end result is an honest collection of my life experiences tied to the decline of my sight. It is a cathartic volume that I pray has power for you through the universal voice poetry can achieve. I step back from the book now and say, "AH, I've come so far. in the darkness and in the Light."Born in the Midwest in 1969, Kathy Nimmer began her education in public school where problems with her vision were first detected in the second grade. She was diagnosed with a rare retinal degenerative disease which caused her vision to deteriorate in stages over the next sixteen years. Nimmer transferred to the Indiana School for the Blind in sixth grade, graduated as valedictorian in 1987, earned a Bachelors in English Education from Trinity Christian College in 1991, and received a Masters in English from Purdue University in 1992. Her teaching career began soon after at Harrison High School in West Lafayette, Indiana, where she continues to teach today. Nimmer has earned numerous teaching honors including the Golden Apple, National Certification, and the Butler-Cooley Excellence in Teaching Award. Her writing has been published and recognized as well, most recently with first place in the Helen Keller International Memoir Competition. While Nimmer's vision has declined to near total blindness with only light perception remaining, she has sought to build her life around principles of faith, creativity, and adventure. This has taken her many places and allowed her to savor countless experiences that might have been out of reach without her inborn drive for personal growth. She competed as a gymnast in two national championships for the blind, spent five weeks in Russia as part of a disabled exchange group, climbed mountains in the Sierra Nevada range, distance-bicycled through three states in two weeks, ran with the Olympic torch in 1996, and swam with dolphins in a therapy center in the Florida Keys. Along the way, Nimmer joined the world of guide dog users, welcoming her first canine partner in 1996 and her second in 2006. In the writing arena, she has composed a young adult novel (yet unpublished), written prolific essays and poetry related to her blindness, and cherished teaching creative writing at Harrison. She is a motivational speaker, pianist, sports fan, and avid reader of mysteries. Nimmer's life has been one of victory and sorrow, mirroring that of disabled and non-disabled individuals alike. However, she finds courage in firm Christian beliefs, support from her family and friends, and the inspirational leadership of strong women such as Elizabeth Dole, Sarah Hughes, Mary Lee Tracy, and Nimmer's own mother, Mary Ann Hiller. She has mentored sighted and blind individuals entering the education field, organized fund-raisers within her community, and sought ways to honor God in all she does. While this last goal often feels far from reality, Nimmer lives deeply, soaring and plunging through the heights and depths of this life, keeping hope as her eternal guide. That imperfect endeavor is an all-consuming assignment this teacher demands relentlessly of herself.