029 Creativity and Low Vision with Wyatt Edmondson

In this episode of inSight Out, host Matthew Reeves talks with Wyatt Edmondson, a Nashville-based singer-songwriter who was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at age five, though his parents waited until he was fifteen to tell him. Wyatt describes the deliberate, protective choice behind that ten-year gap, the two weeks of anger and grief that followed the disclosure, and the pivotal afternoon on a high school fire escape when that grief turned into a sense of purpose: he knew, suddenly and completely, that he wanted to build his life around music.

Wyatt traces his path from an early mentor who convinced him he could make a real career out of songwriting, to becoming a working artist in Nashville's co-writing scene, to the origins of his upcoming album, Make Light of the Dark. He talks about collaborating closely with producer Bobby Holland, who also has RP, and about the community of musicians, friends, and 198 Kickstarter backers who helped bring the record to life. The conversation also covers his family's shared history with RP across two generations, learning to rely on others (including the moment he first used a cane traveling alone), and how he chooses when and how to disclose his blindness to an audience on stage.

Matthew and Wyatt close with a broader reflection on humor, resilience, and grief: how the album's title captures a philosophy that applies well beyond the vision loss community, that taking hardship seriously and refusing to let it define you can coexist. Visit Wyatt at www.wyattedmondson.com Topics Covered: retinitis pigmentosa, RPGR gene, family history and disclosure, grief and diagnosis, mentorship, songwriting with vision loss, Nashville music scene, Kickstarter and independent artistry, disclosure on stage, resilience and humor.

ABOUT THE PODCAST inSight Out is your podcast home for living well with vision loss. Host Matthew Reeves (LPC CRC NCC) is a legally-blind psychotherapist and rehabilitation counselor specializing in helping people thrive while living with disability. Matthew is licensed in Georgia and is a nationally certified rehabilitation counselor.

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