When Burnaby author Suzanne de Montigny was on holiday last year and realized she couldn't read the tourist signs, she thought it was just a side effect of the laser surgery she'd had nine years before.
Back home, she went to an ophthalmologist who ran tests for detached retina, macular degeneration and glaucoma, but they all came back negative.
"It was a mystery. They didn't know what was wrong," she said in a press release. "I was really scared and stopped writing for a whole month. But then the edits for my first novel came back, and I had no choice but to go on."
To adapt to her visual impairment, de Montigny made changes to her computer, enlarging the letters and turning down the backlighting.
With these modifications, she noticed her vision began to improve little by little.
After this troubling experience with her eyes, she realized that while she was fortunate to have been able to see a top specialist here at home, there are many people around the world who do not have access to this kind of vision care.
To make a contribution to the cause, de Montigny decided to donate half the proceeds from her first novel to the Third World Eye Care Society, a group of eye specialists who bring thousands of pairs of glasses to third-world countries and perform eye surgery for free.
"It's the least I can do," she said. "I may never completely solve my vision problem, but I can help others solve theirs."
The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy, an ebook from Muse It Up Publishing, is a fantasy story for youth ages eight to 12, about unicorns struggling to survive in the aftermath of an asteroid hitting Earth.
A book launch will be held Sunday, Dec. 9, at 1:30 p.m. at St. Michaels Hall,
9387 Holmes St.
Food and prizes will be on offer, and guests are asked to bring a pair of old eyeglasses to donate.
Half of all proceeds from the launch go to the Third World Eye Care Society.
Copies of the book are also available from museituppublishing.com, Amazon.com, and Omnilit.com.
For more information, visit www. suzannedemontigny.com.
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