Daddy Won't Let Mom Drive the Car

True Tales of Parenting in the Dark

By: Jo Elizabeth Pinto

Narrated by: Marni Penning

“So Sarah?” the teacher asked, in a question I had rehearsed with her, “What’s it like to have a blind mom?”

“Well,” my little girl said, in an unrehearsed answer, “It’s like a regular mom, except Daddy won’t let her drive his car.”

With that nonchalant reply in front of her second grade class, Sarah summed up the way my blindness has fit into the fabric of our family. It isn't a problem; it isn't even a novelty; it's just part of how we roll. My blindness has changed a few practical logistics. But in the end, kids are kids and moms are moms, and the dents and delights of parenthood are universal.

As I told my daughter when she was very small, putting an only slightly different spin on the words my mom had said to me 30 years before, "The eyes in my face are broken, but the ones in the back of my head work just fine."

Daddy Won’t Let Mom Drive the Car: True Tales of Parenting in the Dark is a book of short vignettes - most of them lighthearted, a few more serious - about my life as the blind mother of a sighted daughter. Welcome to my journey!

©2019 Jo Elizabeth Pinto (P)2019 Jo Elizabeth Pinto

I loved it!!!

I absolutely love this book! It validated a lot of the feelings that I have as a blind parent. I recommend this book to anyone who may be just curious, who has a student with a blind parent, or if you yourself are a blind parent. I couldn’t put this book down! I enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you so much I really appreciated the time energy and thoughtfulness Joe put into her stories, they really helped me out a lot. For me, this book was a lot like sitting down with a hot mug of tea after a very stressful day, thank you. You gave me a lot to think about.

Wonderful read

Loved the wonderful, positive spirit of the author. Highly motivational. Fast paced and yet touches one's heart.
Beautifully narrated

Short, sweet, and Great wisdom here!

Besides being a very entertaining read, I found this book to be an emotional roller coaster for me. But, in a good way!
As a blind parent myself I found this book to be not only informative, but also reassuring. We all go through struggles as parents, and as blind parents it is absolutely no different. Thank you for being down-to-earth, honest, transparent, funny, and absolutely amazing!
But, if you are a cited parent, this book is also for you. This book is for any of us that deal with the mysteries that are our children.
God bless the author! This is truly a great work!

Great Book

This book is full of valuable “Mom” lessons. I would recommend all new moms to read it. There is so much valuable information. It also gives insight, from a blind mom (who has eyes in the back of her head) about how differently a person with disabilities is regarded. I have so many examples - Like the man who physically moved her in a store because she was blocking something he wanted to get. There are so many examples, just read the book!

Adventures in Motherhood

Narration is awesome. Rich and hilarious stories. The author shows that blind moms are like all moms. it is a hopeful powerful book. I not only recomend it for blind parents but also the parents of blind. children.