This is fresh air, I'm Terry Gross.

My guest Frank Bruney says that one night he went to bed believing he was more or less

in control of his life, but he woke up to the realization of how ludicrous that was.

Before I tell you why, let me tell you more about who Bruney is.

He's a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times who recently stepped down as

a full-time columnist.

Before that he was the Times Chief Restaurant Critic, a position he was offered after

serving as Rome Bureau Chief and White House correspondent.

He's also covered the candidacy of George W. Bush.

Before getting to the Times he was the film critic for the Detroit Free Press and a Pulitzer

Prize nominee.

He's written books about George W. Bush, about his passion for food and his struggle with

his weight, and the crazy-making process of applying to colleges in the fear of not

getting into the right one.

You can see he's written about life from several perspectives.

Let's get back to why he woke up one day, realizing it was ludicrous to think he had

control over his own life.

That morning after blaming his suddenly blurred, smeary vision on a hangover, he realized

the problem was his eye.

It was eventually diagnosed as a rare stroke in his eye that irreparably damaged his

optic nerve.

The prognosis?

...