by Elyse Draper

Where Our Survival Techniques Meet the Page

Born of whimsy or forged in the fires of grief, creative expression is rarely optional; it’s a compulsion, a quiet scream for catharsis. For some of us, flushing out the emotional gravity wells we carry isn’t just a desire—it borders on addiction. My own habit began with the visual arts: sketching, painting, sculpting my way through a childhood defined more by survival than innocence. But as adulthood clawed its way in with sharper teeth, I traded brushes for language, canvas for imagination. I began mentally drafting alien worlds, painting with prose, and sculpting raw emotion into characters who lived out the stories I couldn’t speak aloud. They became my dream-shelter, banishing nightmares not by hiding from them, but by rewriting them.

C-PTSD wired me to find solace in complexity. I learned to lull myself to sleep with long division, to meditate by chasing paradoxes through mental mazes. Writing became a way to give structure to chaos, a place to outwit the pain and turn it into something useful. It’s strange how trauma rearranges your mind—how the scattered puzzle pieces of your life can click together if you look at them sideways and hammer hard enough. I write not just to cope, but to conquer. To make beauty out of the wreckage. To laugh—sometimes bitterly, often sarcastically—at the howling beast inside the pit.

Because if the abyss is going to stare back, I might as well give it a story to tell. Four novels, three short stories, 600+ articles, four anthologies, and countless ghostwritten pieces later, there are still plenty of stories to tell. The abyss isn’t going anywhere.

Survival is Tiresome, Let’s Change Our Corner of the World

In 2011, an extremely aggressive autoimmune disease started eating away at my retinas. I imagined going blind was going to be hard; I was wrong. Losing my sight has been easy, adapting to a sighted world – now that has been hard. I am grateful for many things in my life; however, the ability to adapt and use a cathartic tool that doesn’t need sight seems to be particularly significant. I am lucky. I am broken, charred, surrounded by titanium boundaries, and lucky. Hyperactive, creative neuro-spiciness to the rescue, yet again. 

In 2021, I built the V.I.&B. Creatives Workshop to help illuminate the creative mind behind the loss of sight.

No matter how dark the visual world becomes, the brilliance of the human mind and imagination never fades. At V.I.&B, we are a creative sanctuary—an inclusive space where vision loss is no barrier to artistic expression. Here, creativity flourishes not in spite of blindness, but because of the unique perspectives it brings.

Our group includes hobbyists, amateurs, professionals, and the creatively curious—all united by a shared love for the arts. We aren’t limited by genre or medium. Writers, musicians, sculptors, visual artists, and photographers bring their voices, talents, and stories to a vibrant, supportive community. We’re more than just a collective; we’re a platform, a space where artistic contributions are welcomed and celebrated. 

In 2024, iPub Cloud International, a proud publishing house and 501(c)(3), absorbed the V.I.&B. as an ongoing project supporting this community with publications, podcasts, interviews, audiobooks, seminars, and workshops to boost confidence and acceptance. iPub is dedicated to casting a spotlight on this unseen potential. 

Unseen Potential: The Silent Crisis of Employment Among the Visually Impaired

In a world wired for sight, the talents of those who navigate it differently too often go unseen. For individuals who are blind or visually impaired, the job market remains an uphill battle against invisibility, not because they lack skill, intelligence, or drive, but because opportunity too often turns a blind eye.

The numbers are staggering, nearly 70% of people with visual impairments are unemployed or underemployed—a figure that has remained stubbornly high for over half a century. This isn’t a statistical quirk. It’s a systemic failure. The causes? A potent mix of discriminatory hiring practices, outdated assumptions, and a society still learning to see beyond the surface.

For those who manage to break through the hiring barrier, another challenge often awaits: underemployment. Many are relegated to part-time roles not by choice but by circumstances, working fewer hours than they need or in jobs that barely scratch the surface of their capabilities. Highly educated individuals find themselves in positions far below their qualifications, their résumés gathering dust while their potential remains untapped.

The issue is not ability. It’s access. It’s perception. It’s a labor market that has yet to fully acknowledge that vision isn’t the only lens through which value is seen. 

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Additional Resources:

• Entrepreneurism: A Solution to Unemployment and Underemployment of the Blind
• Employment Barriers for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Self-Perceived Employability of Workers With Disability: A Case Study in an Educational Farm

Upcoming Publications:

• Second Edition: Freewill, Consequences, and Vindication
• Book 2 in the SUPERabled Series: Charlie’s Story
• Mirrorscape
• Overtaken Series
• Podcast: Everything Briefly… A Study in Tangents