Kevin Coughlin

Kevin Coughlin is an inspirational speaker and international bestselling author. In 1997, Coughlin became blind in a period of five short days. Doctors diagnosed Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, a rare genetic disorder. As a photographer and lover of the arts, Coughlin was devastated by his rapid, unexpected blindness. He endured years of hopelessness, drowning his sorrows with alcohol and mourning what he had lost. Eventually coming to terms with his ailment, Coughlin turned introspective. He became sober and developed a more gracious outlook on life. He began to find new means of personal fulfillment, one of which was being an activist for the blind as someone who once had sight could.

After fifteen years of darkness, the miracle occurred. Without medical intervention or explanation, Coughlin caught a glimpse of light in his bathroom mirror. His foggy world began to take shape again. His story, now a national bestseller, is chronicled in "Unblinded: One Man’s Courageous Journey through Darkness to Sight" published by Morgan James Publishing on April 10, 2018. Coughlin is the only known person in the world to have experienced a spontaneous regeneration of the optic nerve.

His novel is a USA Today Bestseller and has appeared on numerous Indie bestseller lists throughout the country, as well as on Amazon, Walmart and a bestseller’s list in Germany. He has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows. He inspired a CNN story, Blind Injustice, which chronicles his experience living as a blind person in New York City. Coughlin's story was picked up by the media once again ten years later when his sight returned and was featured on the CBS evening news among hundreds of other local and national print and TV outlets. He lives in New York City with his beloved dog, Elias.