Matthew Vanfossan

Matthew VanFossan's book, Through Gilly's Eyes: Memoirs of a Guide Dog, started with a beer and a conversation with a friend. "Wouldn't it be great having Gilly tell our story?" he said. "He'd be making fun of me all the time." Gilly, VanFossan's first guide dog, became the narrator of this story as VanFossan experienced life with the blindness he once thought would be devastating. Gilly helped him get to where he is now, and the book is written as a tribute to him, to honor their six years...See more

Matthew VanFossan's book, Through Gilly's Eyes: Memoirs of a Guide Dog, started with a beer and a conversation with a friend. "Wouldn't it be great having Gilly tell our story?" he said. "He'd be making fun of me all the time." Gilly, VanFossan's first guide dog, became the narrator of this story as VanFossan experienced life with the blindness he once thought would be devastating. Gilly helped him get to where he is now, and the book is written as a tribute to him, to honor their six years together. After graduating from Oberlin College and living for a while in Brazil, Matt earned a master's in spiritual psychology from the University of Santa Monica in 2012. He now lives with his wife, Rita, and his current guide dog, Achilles, in Santa Monica, California, where he is a counselor and singer/songwriter. "Gilly is still very present in my life. I think he would approve of the book, although he might say it wasn't quite like that." [Taken from an article in The McKnight Journal, April 11, 2013, by Dona Dreeland.] For more information about Matt and Gilly, go to ... See less