Running Blind

📘 About This Book

Kyle Green is on top of the world. He and Matt have been together for ten years, and—as the voice of Ecos, the wildly popular anime character—Kyle is treated like a rock star in anime circles. But in an instant, a stroke leaves him blind. When photographer Matt gets the opportunity of a lifetime, Kyle reexamines their relationship, discovers it has been a safety net rather than a true romance, and sets Matt free to pursue his dream. Kyle's life and career as he knew them are gone, and he must now find the courage and creativity to draft a new plan. After being away for fifteen years, Seth Caplan comes home to Chicago to care for his mother and to partner with a small start-up tech company. He and Kyle meet after Kyle's collision with a child's sidewalk toy, and they hit it off. Kyle wants to get back into running, and Seth becomes his guide. As they get to know each other, they start seeing each other beyond their three-times-a-week runs. But Seth's revelation of the dark reason why he left his career in California sends the relationship into a tailspin and leaves both men running blind.

📖 Summary

Running Blind by Kim Fielding is a deeply moving 2016 fiction novel that explores themes of sudden life-altering change, identity, and the courage it takes to rebuild when everything you know is stripped away. The story follows Kyle Green, a man who seemingly has it all. For ten years, he and his partner Matt have shared a life together. Professionally, Kyle is at the absolute peak of his career. He is the iconic voice of Ecos, a wildly popular anime character, which grants him near rock star status within fervent anime circles. However, the fragile architecture of Kyle's life shatters in an instant when a sudden stroke leaves him completely blind. This devastating medical crisis upends his entire existence, erasing his career and independence in a single moment. As Kyle navigates the initial shock of his blindness, another major life change arrives. Matt is offered the photographic opportunity of a lifetime, a career-defining moment that requires difficult choices. Facing this new reality, Kyle is forced to deeply reexamine his long-term relationship. He comes to the poignant realization that what he and Matt shared had devolved into a comforting safety net rather than a genuine, sustaining romance. Choosing love and selflessness, Kyle sets Matt free so he can pursue his grand dream, leaving Kyle alone to face an uncertain future. With his previous life, career, and relationship completely gone, Kyle is thrust into a daunting new world. He must summon immense inner courage and creative resilience to draft an entirely new plan for living. Amidst this turbulent period of personal reinvention, the narrative introduces Seth Caplan. Seth has just returned to Chicago after being away for fifteen years, having come home to care for his aging mother and to enter into a professional partnership with a small start-up technology company. Fate intervenes when Kyle and Seth have a literal and memorable introduction following an awkward collision with a child's sidewalk toy. Despite the unexpected and clumsy start, the two men immediately hit it off, sparking a connection that promises new beginnings for Kyle. Fielding's novel captures the emotional complexity of adaptation, grief, and unexpected romance as Kyle learns to navigate the physical world in darkness while opening his heart to a fresh chapter. Spanning 195 pages, Running Blind balances heavy emotional beats with a hopeful outlook on human resilience. It delves into the nuances of disability, career loss, and the bravery required to let go of stagnant relationships. Readers are taken on a journey of profound self-discovery as Kyle transitions from mourning his past glory to actively designing a hopeful future, proving that an ending can often be the prerequisite for a meaningful new beginning.

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