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Meredith Leigh Burton is a local author from Lynchburg who writes fantasy fiction adventure books for young adults. To date she has written seven books, her latest being non-fiction, as it is her own story. She is a college graduate, an inspirational speaker, a Sunday School teacher, and a singer. Her hobbies include reading, writing, swimming, and attending theatrical productions and movies. And she is blind.

Meredith was born premature, weighing less than two pounds. In the 80’s neonatal intensive care units were still giving large amounts of oxygen to premature babies as their lungs were often too underdeveloped to take in enough oxygen on their own. It was not then known to shield the babies’ eyes from the oxygen to prevent detached retinas and ensuing blindness. Despite two surgeries, Meredith never gained sight.

Being raised in a close and loving family, her love of storytelling began early in life. Her parents, grandparents, and other relatives read aloud to her stories, books, and poetry. She especially loved the adventure stories, those of fantastic characters from faraway lands who had amazing adventures.

She attended Tennessee School for the Blind (TSB) in Nashville from first grade through high school. Learning Braille was a challenge, she says. While the alphabet uses 26 letters, the Braille system has over 200 letters and contractions, which does make it cumbersome. Meredith’s Braille copy of the Bible has 37 volumes. Even so, there are words in Braille that have been shortened. For instance, the letter “l” by itself means” like” and the letter “k” by itself means “knowledge.”

Meredith loved singing and took voice lessons while attending TSB. She auditioned for Mid-State and All-State Choirs and was accepted into both. She also joined a forensics team. This type of forensics was of a theatrical nature, where students competed by acting out scenes from plays, monologues, or poetry and prose readings. She won several awards for her performances.

After TSB Meredith attended MTSU. Her hopes of becoming a music teacher were dashed there when she was not accepted into the school of music, so she turned to English and literature. She graduated with a major in English and Theater and a minor in Education, and obtained her teaching certificate for grades 7-12.

Though she was well qualified to teach and even had classroom experience as a volunteer, she was unable to get hired for a teaching position. Despite having numerous interviews, the answer was always the same, “We decided to hire someone else for the position.” Meredith says that preconceived stereotypes and fear of the unknown make it difficult for persons with disabilities to obtain full time employment. She has found that over 75% of the visually impaired community is unemployed. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 states the those with disabilities cannot be discriminated against, but Meredith does not believe this is true. She says the appalling lack of employment for the visually impaired is proof that there is an on-going problem. Adding insult to injury is being told that those who are not working are a burden to others.

With no teaching employment on the horizon, Meredith turned to writing. Her love of adventure stories growing up inspired her to write in that genre. As she enjoyed working with grades seven to twelve, she wanted to write for that age group. Some of her books are loosely based on fairy tales and Bible stories she loved as a child.

Meredith always includes characters with different handicaps, not as having super powers, but as strong characters that make positive contributions to their circumstances. Her favorite part of the process is writing dialogue. She deliberately refrains from describing her characters in too much detail, preferring instead to let the reader’s imagination fill out the character.

Her use of color is particularly interesting. Having never seen color, she associates colors with objects or emotions. Green, she associates with envy, grass, and peppermint, white with marshmallows, snow, and clouds, and red with anger and fire, but also with excitement and fierce, sacrificial love. She infuses her stories with a lot of color, explaining that she simply enjoys colors in a different way.

Meredith uses a small handheld device with a Braille display called a Braille Sense to makes notes for her books. She can also download and read books using the device. After making her notes she uses a laptop with a screen reader to do the bulk of her writing.

She credits her editor with helping her develop her writing skills. It was her editor who encouraged her to write her own story. Meredith speaks with various groups about her experiences and challenges. She especially likes speaking with children and young adults, and teaches a Sunday School class.

Being blind, Meredith has dealt with and overcome challenges that sighted people cannot even imagine. She has had more than her share of ups and downs, as well as doubtful moments and setbacks. But she has persevered to become a talented writer, a natural teacher, a positive role model, and an inspiration. What she lacks in sight she more than makes up for with her other four senses and her strong faith. She considers herself blessed by God. That is not hard to believe. She herself is a blessing.