Nicole is the author of the memoir Now I See You (St. Martin’s), heralded as a Best New Book by People magazine and Amazon, and chosen as a Must-Read by Family Circle, Redbook, Martha Stewart Living, Marie Claire UK and others. She is also the author of the popular children’s series, The Fix-It Friends. Her writing appears in the New York Times, Good Housekeeping, New York, Psychology Today, Parents, American Baby, as well as Salon, the Huffington Post and xoJane. She chronicles her continuing mis-adventures in motherhood on her blog, A Mom Amok. Nicole appeared in the Moth Mainstage in NYC, where she told the story of her struggle with vision loss to an audience of 1000. She’s appeared, as well, on The Better Show, Huffington Post Live, and countless private events, inspiring and entertaining diverse groups of people.
When Nicole was nineteen years old, she learned that she was slowly going blind, thanks to a degenerative retinal disease. This diagnosis served as a sudden wake-up call, freeing Nicole from complacency and hesitation and serving as an imperative to carpe diem. She told a few friends and family but soon decided to keep the diagnosis to herself, as it only seemed to trigger pity and sadness; she didn’t want her bright future defined by a tragedy that would not impact her for years to come. She concealed her vision loss, a feat which became more daring and impossible as her many blind spots grew larger. Before long, her innocent omission had became a bald-faced lie, one she found herself protecting at all costs. When she became a mother and was declared legally blind, however, she was forced to confront the frightening fact she’d tried to avoid for so long and made peace with it.
A native of New York, she received a BA in Theater and English from Yale, a MA in English from Columbia, and a red nose from the San Francisco School of Circus Arts. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, three children and two feisty goldfish.
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At the heart of The Fix-It Friends is the idea that if they work together, kids have the strength and smarts to tackle the challenges they encounter. All that's missing are the specific tools to get the job done. Through hilarious hi-jinx and plenty of trial-and-error, Veronica and her friends stumble upon these tools, and by the end of each book, they've assembled a complete toolkit of strategies to handle the problem at hand -- whether it's worry, teasing, reading challenges, death of a pet, attention troubles or friendship struggles. The Fix-It Friends hits shelves in May 2017. |
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Now I See YouA Memoir
St. Martin’s Press
Told with humor and irreverence, Now I See You is an uplifting story about refusing to cower at life’s curveballs, about the power of love to triumph over fear. But, at its core, it’s a story about acceptance: facing the truths that just won't go away, and facing yourself, broken parts and all. |
In her highly interactive school visits, Nicole will not only give students a glimpse into her writing process, but help them build these toolkits for themselves. Using the same humor and effervescence that infuses her books, Nicole, a professor of writing at NYU SPS, fully engages students on many levels. With a multimedia presentation that incorporates video and slides as well as role-playing and good, old-fashioned props, Nicole leaves students excited about reading and writing, empowered to help themselves and mobilized to help others.
Living in Technicolor
Due to an earth-shattering diagnosis of a degenerative retinal disease at age 19, Nicole has spent her time making the most of the vision she has left: joining circus school, tearing through boyfriends, traveling the world. This talk will inspire others to make every day count – now, not tomorrow.
Losing Vision and Finding Perspective
Nicole concealed her vision loss from friends and family for years. It wasn’t until she became a mother and was declared legally blind that she was forced to face – and make peace with – this reality. This is a talk about finding courage in love, freedom in surrender, and, ultimately, light in darkness.
Check out this list of nine books to help your child with their anxiety, including Nicole C. Kear’s Fix-It Friends series.
Listen to Nicole C. Kear speak at the annual luncheon for Vision Loss Resources.
Read The Daily News’s interview with Nicole C. Kear.
Check out Nicole C. Kear’s New York Times Modern Love and Motherlode essays.
Learn more about Nicole C. Kear on her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
"Nicole was fantastic. She was so personable and a perfect fit for the event!" - Vision Loss Resources
"The entire conference was a rocking success and Nicole set the tone. We can’t thank her enough for starting us off in such dynamic fashion."
--Joseph Nye, New York State Commission for the Blind
"It was absolutely perfect!! The kids were engaged, asked good questions and were truly inspired by her."
-- Judy Williams, Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
"Nicole's presentation was absolutely amazing and right on target with our students. I really feel like her message was felt and heard by each of the audiences."
-- Elisha Zuaro, Florida School for the Blind
"Everyone really enjoyed you--they were still talking about you yesterday as we were winding down, & there were lots of noses buried in red books in between conference sessions!" --Sara Zachariah, Washington State School for the Blind "There's a message in her journey for everyone who struggles with adversity and the unknown."
-- Dr. Rebecca Lafleur, The College of New Rochelle.
Praise for Now I See You
“We’re here to tell you that Kear’s memoir, about finding out that she’s slowly going blind and what that means for the rest of her life, is one of 2014’s best books and one that will have you alternating between laughing and crying from page to page.”
- Parade.com
"Nicole C. Kear's hilarious and poignant tale of her ever-dimming world sparkles with a winning wit and wisdom gained as much from seizing the day as from falling down."
- American Way (in-flight mag for American Airlines!
“Kear is earthy and daringly frank in this never-boring, unusually illuminating account of living with diminishing sight as she, ultimately, takes a refreshingly glass-half-full approach to life. Funny and poignant.”
- Booklist
“[Nicole’s] story is spunky and full of a zest for life that will open the eyes of readers to the little joys of the world. A tender memoir about love, life and going blind.”
- Kirkus Reviews
"Her story is spunky and full of a zest for life that will open the eyes of readers to the little joys of the world. A tender memoir about love, life and going blind."
— Kirkus Reviews
“Kear is earthy and daringly frank in this never-boring, unusually illuminating account of living with diminishing sight as she, ultimately, takes a refreshingly glass-half-full approach to life. ‘The wonderful thing about going blind is that along with the beautiful sights, you miss unattractive ones, too. You won’t see your crow’s feet.’ Funny and poignant.”
— Booklist
"Hilarious and profoundly heartwarming. Now I See You will change the way you see the world."
— Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia
"It's too easy to praise a memoir about disability for its courage. Nicole Kear is much more than brave - she's sassy, stylish, defiant and funny."
— Domenica Ruta, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You