Not Fade Away is about Rebecca Alexander and her life with a genetic illness called Usher Syndrome type III.
Usher Syndrome type III will rob Rebecca completely of her sight and hearing at some point in the prime of her life. Type III being a gradual loss of sight and hearing since her childhood. Rebecca wrote that when she was young she was in denial about her condition and the outcome it will have for her in the future. This book is audaciously positive. I found it very hard to believe that no matter what happens a person finds a positive outlook in it. In a book, as in life, there are both pros and cons. The only thing that was written about as a con was the way her appearance would look like with items such as hearing aids, Cochlear implant and her cane for the blind. She worried if she would still be attractive with these things. Really? Many questions kept coming to me while reading this book, the parts readers were never made privy to, like who walked the dog? The book never really did focus on the smaller parts of her life. The everyday things that we all do that had to become more challenging for her. I do not want to read a sob story but I did want to know the good with the bad. Rebecca did make it very clear that she did not have to worry much because Alan, Caroline, Polly or her mom would figure it out or do it for her. When you start reading this book you think to yourself I could not imagine this happening to me and then half way through the book the reader realizes Rebecca can not either. I think this would be a great read for people who like puff pieces. Oh by the way, how she has written about Alan. It is like they are in an open relationship. I doubt she will ever move past him. With Goodreads two stars means the book was o.k.. I gave Not Fade Away 2 stars because I thought it was an o.k. book.
I received this book from LibraryThing for an honest review. ( )

So upbeat! Really a wonderful memoir and full of so much for such a young person who seems to have already lived several lives. I love her mantra---"breathe in peace, breathe out fear" -- terrific for anyone to absorb and use. It's hard to imagine so much energy and life in just one person so it's terrific that she put down the hard-won but extremely detailed descriptions of her struggles to try and live as normal a life as possible. I love her attitude about accepting help as she is giving help. ( )

It took me awhile to get into this book, but I did after about the first third of it. Fascinating and sad, this young lady is a very good example to everyone when it comes to endurance and resourcefulness. I admire her tenacity and how she continually looks for ways to make her life happy and productive. Good book for everyone, except perhaps very young persons. ( )

A smart, funny, sexy, and tender treatise on compassion and acceptance..

Everyone should read this book. ( )

What ages would I recommend it too? Eighteen and up. (Too many sexual references in the novel for a younger audience.)

Length? A couple of days.

Characters? Memorable, several characters.

Setting? Real world. California and New York.

Written approximately? 2014.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? Ready to read more. I want to learn more about the science behind the disorder.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? I'd really like some information or links that would help readers find a helpful specialist. So many are not.

Short storyline: A look at the life of a woman with Usher 3. She covers what she feels she did right, and even her glaring mistakes.

Notes for the reader: She clearly conveys the differences among people with eye disorders. She was able to learn sign language, and prefers it to speech or braille. My attempt at sign language a few decades ago was a failure. My vision was too poor to follow the motion. I am now learning braille. Following different paths we'll still reach the same place. ( )