Finding Out Will Change Your Life Forever: Dealing with the Knowledge You are Face Blind

Summary

We all grow up with the assumption that everybody perceives the world in the same way that we do and, as an adult, live what we feel to be normal lives and interact socially just like anyone else. Imagine what would happen to you if you found out that you are really very different, that you have been compensating all of your life and that what you considered normal behavior was actually an elaborate coping mechanism you had created for yourself. Your world suddenly changes. That's what happened to me when I found out I was face blind.This book recalls numerous true instances from my life that are highly amusing when seen from the point of view of someone who is not face blind. It also provides both an entertaining as well as an enlightening read about the intricate methods I developed in order to get by, and my perception of the world as a person who did not know he was face blind.This book also deals with how my life would have been different if I had learned earlier in life that I was face blind, and how my life dramatically changed after I did learn about it.I conclude with a word of caution to well meaning parents and clinicians who might identify face blindness in their child.This second edition was written six years after the first and includes how I learned to cope with the knowledge I am face blind. I share my coping mechanisms and explain how I am able to deal with people.