All in all, it is a twisty tale. Astonishingly, it is based on the true story of Gross' own nephew and his suspicious suicide. But, unfortunately it lags a lot and many threads of evidence were too thin to hold my attention. This was a very tough book for me to read, since my daughter suffers from the same disease. On the other hand, I hope the encouraging words found in EYES WIDE OPEN may help those suffering from RP.

In EYES WIDE OPEN, Isaac Lidsky provides a series of autobiographical essays, which document his struggles with Retinitis Pigmentosa—commonly called “RP.” The author explains the hideous nature of this disease: One gradually loses vision, starting from the periphery, causing a “tunnel effect.” There is no cure, although there is a lot of research going on. He was a hermit. He refused to fly and wouldn't be driven at more than thirty miles an hour. He avoided having his picture taken and was terrified of being assassinated. As a filmmaker, he was obsessed with perfection. He insisted on total control of every facet of the process. Simple scenes required one hundred takes. No wonder he made only six movies in the past thirty-five years.In the chapter, “Acceptance and Surrender” the author explains his tendency to put limits on himself. He cites the challenge of “throwing out the first pitch.” Even though he was a highly successful lawyer, he had convinced himself he could not throw a baseball. He discovered that “The self-limiting assumptions we make about ourselves are buried deep and easily missed.” Dr. Ivan Misner, bestselling author of Masters of Networking and founder of Business Network International

Killing Hour (aka Eyes Wide Open) was written with such passion and emotion that I was not surprised to find in the author's notes, that the book was rooted in reality and not fiction. Andrew Gross based this novel, perhaps in some cathartic manner, on his own tragic and deeply personal family loss. Gross mixes many more significant characters, like the abettors of the Cult formed by its leader: Russel Houvnanian. To do what these criminals are capable of, they must work for the mafia. I thought these people were supposed to be delusional druggies, but somehow they are VERY capable of hunting down people. I swear they must have access to police records.

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Everyone should read this book. It has amazing storytelling and a great message everyone should hear. Much of that process, he says, comes with the realization that we don't see with our eyes, but rather with our brains. "Living with your eyes open and living eyes wide open are very different," he posits - and outlines how readers can follow his example. The most meaningful take-away for me, I think, is that, "You will never control tomorrow, but you can always choose whether to act today, and how."