Look Up, Move Forward

By: Becky Andrews

Narrated by: Kimberly S. Hobscheid

Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

When 18-year-old Becky Andrews is diagnosed with the degenerative eye condition retinitis pigmentosa, she finally understands her childhood challenges of softball strikeouts, notorious clumsiness, and why she's never been able to see the stars.

As her vision narrows, she must give up driving and accept her need for a mobility cane. In the process, she learns to embrace her new identity as a blind woman, one step at a time. Undeterred by the certainty of eventual blindness, Becky adopts a proactive approach to creating a life of purpose and joy.

Becky's remarkable story of living life to the fullest is a journey of courage and determination. Part memoir and part resilience manifesto, Look Up, Move Forward will inspire readers to face their own lives with more creativity, grit, determination, and joy.

©2016 Resilient Vision (P)2017 Resilient Vision

Pit stops in record time...

What a beautiful, inspiring, fun, funny, uplifting, insightful book this was. I had a long road trip (alone) and needed something to keep me awake. Look Up, Move Forward fit the bill. I get bored easily, but not with this book! I found myself running back from pit stops so I could continue listening!! I loved it!!

very motivational for me

As somebody who also has RP reading this book has made me grateful for my experience with this disease. A dog would have been nice over the years, but I function well as I am and guide dogs are not cheap. I love her relationship with her dogs. I love the obstacles that she has overcome. All in all a very good book and one that makes you look for the good side of everything.

Inspiring True Story of Conquering RP.

Would you listen to Look Up, Move Forward again? Why?

Yes, this is an inspiring true story of how Beck Andrews chose not to allow retinitus pigmentosa (a degenerative eye disease) to keep her from living her best life. She is first diagnosed with this disease near the time of her engagement to Steve. The author shares her physical and emotional struggles and how she overcame each of them with gratitude, forgiveness, creativity and perserverance.

What did you like best about this story?

She does not allow the numerous challanges of her vision loss to keep her from going to college, having children, forging a career or running the Boston Marathon. She shares her secrets to thriving in life rather than just surviving.

What about Kimberly S. Hobscheid’s performance did you like?

The narrator does a great job of capturing the author's voice. She has a pleasant up-beat voice.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book motivates me to overcome the challanges in my own life with more grace. The story caused me to be more thankful for my advantages and more creative in overcoming difficulties.

Any additional comments?

I received a review copy of this audiobook from Audio Book Boom at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Everybody needs this book and it's messages!

If you could sum up Look Up, Move Forward in three words, what would they be?

Rising Up

What did you like best about this story?

I feel more alive for having read this great book. Look up, move forward.... there is so much in just that message. T

Look Up, Move Forward

This book is a well-written look at one woman's experience with blindness. I cheered at her successes, cried at her losses, and felt like an old friend was sitting across the table from me. Becky is an optomist, who truly seems to want people to succeed. As a blind woman myself, I personally have experienced the discrimination she writes about in this book; she describes these feelings well, though I personally wouldn't likely respond in the same way.

The narrator for this book is perky and bright, sometimes too much so. But she handles most portions of this book well.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Inspirational and heartwarming

This audiobook was a very sweet experience. Very heartwarming and inspiring. The author speaks from her heart and tells a delightful account of becoming a successful wife, mother, athlete and professional woman all while struggling with the additional challenge of an incurable and degenerative eye condition. She shares how her husband, children, friends and guide dogs all contributed to her success and happiness along the way. Be ready for some kleenex in parts as the touching story recounts the loyalty of her guide dogs and the support of family and friends. Enjoy!

Uplifting Memoir

This uplifting memoir first captured my attention because it was written by and about a woman experiencing vision loss. I always do my best to support fellow authors with visual impairments, and although I’ve been blind all my life and haven’t faced the deterioration of my eyesight like Mrs. Andrews has, I could relate to many of the doubts and questions she dealt with from the outside world and in her own mind as she built her career, became a mother, and forged her identity as a woman. However, it didn’t take me long to figure out this book isn’t just another story about handling blindness in a world built for sighted people.

“Look Up, Move Forward” is a book about living with joy and dignity, about choosing to face every day with gratitude, courage, and tenacity, no matter what circumstances that day brings. Mrs. Andrews isn’t just a writer of pretty words, someone who talks the talk; she practices what she preaches. Her worldview and mine are similar. Reading her book has been a refreshing reminder of the benefits that come from living gratefully and graciously.

Inspirational Has A New Meaning

Back a long, long time ago when I was in high school I attended what would now be called a mainstream school. In those days it was primarily a facility to blend the many teenagers who were handicapped by polio into a population of non-handicapped. As an additional benefit it was also a building that would accommodate blind students. I didn’t really understand what that meant --- and the gift that was --- until I listened to “Look Up, Move Forward”.

We were always told “don’t give anyone any special treatment” and we didn’t; sometimes to somewhat harsh extremes but the idea of a mainstream school is to expose those with disabilities to as normal an environment as possible. “Look Up, Move Forward” allowed me to “see” what that would mean to a non-sighted person.

To say Becky Andrews has lead an inspirational life is an understatement. I can’t think of many sighted people who have accomplished what she has. Becky is the most abled person I can think of.

This book will help change your personal dictionary by redefining or even eliminating the word “handicapped”.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Look up

This was a very interesting,well written book.Becky loses her sight slowly but finds herself many times.She has lead a very full life despite being blind.Very inspiring.Kimberly S. Hobsched was the perfect narrator.I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

Inspiring and relatable.

I was very moved by Mrs. Andrews life example of meeting challenges head on with tenacity, grace, laughter, and faith.
While I don’t have a degenerative eye disease who doesn’t have obstacles in life that pop up and seem to alter our course completely.
The story addressed real issues and the answers weren’t always easy or perfect but to watch the author to roll with life’s changes by looking up and moving forward was quite inspiring.
She has truly inspired me to reevaluate how I handle life’s challenges and to try to face them with my whole heart.