About the Book

Imagine if we had to wear our imperfections like labels on our faces every day -- in photos, at formal events, job interviews, meeting someone for the first time. What if there were no hiding our imperfections? No doubt we would struggle with feeling self-conscious, and we would wonder how we were being judged by others.

In my book, Eye of the Beholder, I profile people who were born with facial differences, or deformities, or whose faces were changed forever as a result of injury or disease. Most chapters are devoted to a single person's story. Their stories are amazing, and they teach us the definitions of patience and perseverance.

Melissa, who is a senior in college, has undergone forty-two surgeries in nineteen years to try to correct issues affecting her face since birth. After her surgeries, she refused to look at herself in the mirror, because she was unsure who she'd meet.

Matthew was born with Moebius syndrome. Here's how his story begins:

Sometimes it’s just easier to trudge through the streets of Manhattan than try to hail a cab, even in the darkest days of winter. One time, thirteen taxicabs in a row stopped to pick up Matthew, but they took one look at him and sped away. Several times, he already had a grip on the door handle when the driver hit the accelerator. The sudden lurch of the vehicle stung his hand, stung his sensibilities. So he often walks, making his way up the center of the street, ignoring the honking horns and using his cane to help keep himself steady. Because the street is better lighted than the sidewalks – street lamps are designed, after all, to assist drivers, not pedestrians – he feels safer walking in the street. He doesn’t have night or peripheral vision, so the headlights from oncoming traffic help to light his way. During the winter months, he bundles up in his down overcoat, topped off by his Russian-style fur hat. From behind, negotiating the busy streets of New York City, he looks like Truman Capote. From the front, he is Matthew Joffe.

The book also includes chapters on the history of facial plastic surgery, facial prostheses and future advances such as tissue engineering and face transplant.

When I first began my research for the book, I realized that little awareness exists for people with facial differences. Even after all the attention surrounding Isabelle Dinoire, the world's first recipient of a partial face transplant, the topic of facial differences slipped back into darkness. I'm trying to shed some light.

Eye of the Beholder is published by Kaplan Publishing and is available now from Amazon.com or wherever books are sold. A portion of my proceeds will benefit organizations that help support people with facial differences.