Book excerpt: Blind since birth, a once-spirited kid with big dreams now finds herself in a locked psychiatric facility--a wounded young woman in the midst of a global pandemic. This memoir spans decades and continents to tell a story of the beautiful similarities that make us all human. From meeting unlikely allies in the dirty streets of some of Latin America's most impoverished neighbourhoods, to discovering difficult truths about discrimination in her home country of Canada, Heather Hutchison offers poignant insight into mental health awareness, and what it means to strive for an ordinary life when you are often treated as anything but ordinary. At once heartbreakingly honest and strikingly witty, Holding On by Letting Go is the unforgettable true story of one woman's journey through despair to acceptance and hope. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of the light that can be found in the darkest of times.