Fire in My Eyes An American Warrior’s Journey from Being Blinded on the Battlefield to Gold Medal Victory

"I am not going to let my blindness build a brick wall around me. I'd give my eyes one hundred times again to have the chance to do what I have done, and what I can still do."-Brad Snyder speaking with First Lady Michelle Obama

On the night Osama bin Laden was killed, US Navy Lieutenant Brad Snyder was serving in Afghanistan as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer with SEAL Team Ten. When he learned of SEAL Team Six's heroics across the Pakistani border, Brad was thankful. Still, he knew that his dangerous combat deployment would continue.

Less than five months later, Brad was engulfed by darkness after a massive blast caused by an enemy improvised explosive device. Suddenly Brad was blind, with vivid dreams serving as painful nightly reminders of his sacrifice.

Exactly one year after losing his sight, Brad heard thousands cheer as he stood on a podium in London. Incredibly, Brad had just won a gold medal in swimming at the 2012 Paralympic Games.

Fire in My Eyes is the astonishing true story of a wounded veteran who refused to give up. Lieutenant Brad Snyder did not let blindness build a wall around him-through tenacity and courage, he tore it down.

Brad Snyder is a US Navy veteran and Paralympic gold medalist in swimming. Brad is still an active athlete for Team USA and travels the country as a motivational speaker. He lives in Baltimore.

Tom Sileo is coauthor of Brothers Forever and Senior Editor of The Stream (stream.org). Tom is the 2016 recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation's General Oliver P. Smith Award for distinguished reporting. He lives in Florida.