How To Survive Losing Vision by Helen Harris

RP International

Spreads Holiday Hope with

Helen Harris’ Autobiography:

How To Survive Losing Vision ^TM

— Book about low vision offers support, tips and hope for the visually impaired —

LOS ANGELES -- (November 1, 2011) – Helen Harris’ RP (Retinitis Pigmentosa) International (www.rpinternational.org) — the longest-standing non-profit organization leading the way for medical and technological advancements for the visually impaired — is pleased to announce the release of Harris’ autobiography, How To Survive Losing Vision (authorHouse). As a homemaker in her 30s, Harris and two out of her three sons were diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa. For the next 40 years, she embarked on a mission to find a cure for blindness. The book offers her personal experiences, support and tips for anyone managing and overcoming progressive blindness due to retinal disease. The book is available for purchase at www.authorhouse.com for a suggested retail price of $16.95 (paperback) and $25.95 (hardcover).

Harris says, “This book will make a difference in the life of anyone struggling with sight loss or low vision. I wrote this book because I wished that someone had been able to give me this information and support when I was losing my own vision. It’s my own way of piercing the darkness and letting the visually impaired know that they are not alone.”

Harris founded RP International to raise awareness and funds for medical advancements for the visually impaired. She commissioned the first medical book written exclusively about Retinitis Pigmentosa, and she has been responsible for enlisting contributions, approximating $325 million for research and treatment for RP and other degenerative eye diseases.

She adds, “Within just the past several years alone, great strides have been made in retinal transplantation. What was impossible to even imagine five years ago will almost certainly become a reality within the next decade. New technologies and medical techniques have brought us to the threshold of hope—to the day when Retinitis Pigmentosa or Macular Degeneration will no longer carry with it a lifetime of darkness.”

For more information, please visit www.rpinternational.org.

About RP International (RPI)

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a degenerative, hereditary eye disease that afflicts nearly 3.5 million people worldwide. When diagnosed with the condition 40 years ago, Helen Harris was a homemaker in Pennsylvania. Once she found out that she had passed on RP to two out of her three sons, she started a mission to save vision by founding RP International (RPI). Since then, Harris’ non-profit organization has led the fight against disabling eye diseases that afflict over 31 million people in America and worldwide. RPI has raised over $5 million to date during the past 40 years of telethons and special events, including its annual Vision Awards fundraiser for medical research for restoring vision. RPI is also behind the first successful retinal transplant that has fully restored vision in blind patients. RPI has also enlisted other donors into contributing more than $300 million directly to medical research for eye health. Whether Retinitis Pigmentosa, Macular Degeneration, Usher's Syndrome, Batten's Disease, or other visual impairments, RPI has helped pierce the darkness through the following initiatives: sponsoring medical research and communication amongst leading researchers; providing human services for blind and sight-impaired children, young adults, and seniors; educating the public, the medical profession, and those suffering from disabling eye diseases; pioneering TheatreVision™, an innovative technical development invented at RPI that permits the blind and sight-impaired to watch movies and television with their sighted family and friends; the annual “Eyes of Christmas” special broadcast, raising awareness and bringing holiday cheer to the blind; as well as the annually televised Vision Awards (www.visionawards.org), which honors major luminaries across the fields of entertainment, science, sports and the arts. Harris has partnered with many of the biggest stars and movie studios to produce TheatreVision™ versions of major feature films, including James Cameron, who lent his voice for the audio description of his blockbuster hit, "Titanic."

Contributions to support RPI’s initiatives to save vision can be made via mail to: RP International, PO BOX 900, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, or online at www.rpinternational.org. For information please contact Helen Harris at 818-992-0631, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Media Contact:

Heather Burgett at 310-452-9133 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it