The latest heartwarming Hallmark drama is not your usual romance. Guiding Emily, premiering Friday, Sept. 8 at 9/8c on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, is a love story between one woman, coping with losing her eyesight, and one adorably devoted guide dog. Through a series of serendipitous encounters, Emily (played by Grey's Anatomy's Sarah Drew) and her four-legged friend Garth (voiced by Emmy winner Eric McCormack of Will & Grace) overcome their obstacles and find healing in each other.
Based on the 2020 novel of the same name by USA TODAY bestselling author Barbara Hinske, Guiding Emily doesn't shy away from depicting the challenges faced by the visually impaired. But it doesn't dwell on them, either. Guiding Emily is not, as Hinske puts it, a "'feel sorry for the poor blind girl' movie." It's an uplifting account of how the kindness of strangers and the resources of compassionate communities can help us cross even the toughest hurdles, and it's based in Hinske's own experience among the visually impaired community.
Wide Open Country sat down with Hinske to talk all things Guiding Emily, including the touching true story that inspired the book, getting emotional on the set of the Hallmark film and the injury that forever changed her own life: "The only thing I had was my mind."
The Inspiration for Guiding Emily
Antonio Cupo and Sarah Drew in Guiding Emily. (Allister Foster/Hallmark)
Hinske wrote Guiding Emily after visiting the Foundation for Blind Children in Phoenix, which she calls "one of my most precious memories that will be with me for the rest of my life." Established in 1952, the FBC provides education and resources for visually impaired people of all ages. There, Hinske met a 4-year-old boy who was born deaf and blind. Doctors said he would never walk or talk; and yet, there he was, "walking, talking, laughing, happy."
"I was patting tears," Hinske recalls of that emotional meeting. To continue helping the visually impaired, the nonprofit FBC needed funding and to raise awareness in the sighted community. "I said, 'Great. A book can do both those things.' So I donate half of my royalties from Guiding Emily to the foundation."
The titular Emily is a newly blind adult who, of course, mourns her loss — but is also introduced to a host of people and resources that prove the FBC's central tenet: Vision loss is a diagnosis, not a disability. Across the Guiding Emily series' three books (and counting), Hinske strives to address issues that visually impaired people of all walks of life face. To do it "honorably and accurately," she put in 6 months' worth of research, undertaking white cane training, sitting in on counseling sessions for the newly blind and, crucially, getting a behind-the-scenes look at how puppies are trained to be guide dogs at Guide Dogs for the Blind's California campus.
"I met a black Lab there named Gnocchi who became Garth in my book. That one fell in my lap," she smiles. The novel traces Emily and Garth's paths toward each other. Just as she adjusts to her new normal, we get a first-person account of Garth's progress toward his goal of becoming a guide dog. In the movie, Garth is a yellow Lab voiced by Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), who Hinske says is "brilliant" as the excitable pup.
Behind-the-Scenes With the Cast of Guiding Emily
(Allister Foster/Hallmark)
"I was impressed with the integrity that Hallmark brought to this project," Hinske says of the film. The network previously adapted her novella The Christmas Club into a 2019 film starring Elizabeth Mitchell and Cameron Mathison. But selling the rights to Guiding Emily was a far more sensitive thing:
"I wasn't going to sell it if this movie was going to turn out to be a 'feel sorry for the poor blind girl' movie," Hinske says. "That serves no one, and the visually impaired community is sick to death of all of that." Hallmark proved to be safe hands for the ultimately uplifting story of Emily and her four-legged little soulmate. The screenplay was written by veteran Hallmark scribe Betsy Morris (The Wedding Veil Inspiration). Hinske provided feedback on accuracy, right down to the cane tips used on set. "You have your city cane, you have your hiking cane," she says. "Wrong kind of tips? Stop the presses and fix it."
At the time of our conversation, Hinske hadn't yet seen the film. But she visited the set often, getting to know the actors bringing her novel to life. There's the ebullient Sarah Drew (Grey's Anatomy fans know her as Dr. April Kepner) as Emily, Antonio Cupo (Peacemaker) as her best friend and fellow rock-climbing aficionado Matthew, Sharon Taylor (Big Sky) as Garth's trainer Katie and veteran Hallmark director Peter Benson as Garth's handler Mark. Toby Levins (The Night Agent) comes in for a bit of a bruising as Emily's less-than-stellar boyfriend Connor — so much so that Hinske actually apologized to him on set for having to play a cad:
"[Toby Levins] is the most delightful, kind, sweet man. And his own mother is blind. Before she lost her sight as an adult, she raised guide dogs. So he knows all about this world. He lives this world."
While Guiding Emily is a story of hope and healing, it's not without a few gut punches. Hinske recalls one particularly emotional filming day shooting a mother-daughter scene between prolific TV actress Christine Willes and Sarah Drew.
"I tell you, every single solitary person on set—and there were, like, 75 people—cried when [Sarah Drew] was filming those scenes. I was a complete wreck," she says, adding: "Before the final take, Sarah Drew and [Christine Willes] were hugging each other. Sarah's chin was quivering. They were so invested in that. I guess I just thought actors would, you know, haul out this emotional portrayal and then, you know, 'Cut!' And they're, like, taking a look at their phone, taking a sip of water and it's no big deal. Well, no, they don't. They stay in there."
Hinske's Own Experience of Visual Impairment
Antonio Cupo and Sarah Drew in Guiding Emily. (Allister Foster/Hallmark)
Being on the set of Guiding Emily was a far cry from the "little plays" Hinske wrote and staged at home as a child. ("I had an older brother who was not particularly enamored of the idea of starring in any of my little productions.") She only recently left her career as a corporate attorney to be a full-time novelist. And despite always harboring writerly ambitions, she didn't act on them until about 13 years ago, when a serious injury ground her life to a halt.
"In 2010, I broke my neck in a car accident and was left with double vision for over 10 years," Hinske says. She managed, but she was unable to drive. It was only within the past year that she finally found a doctor who could surgically correct her double vision. The procedure was a success.
In the immediate aftermath of the accident, Hinske "couldn't watch TV, couldn't be on the computer. I was in one of those dreadful neck braces. So the only thing I had was my mind. And I decided, 'Well, if I was going to write a novel, what would I write about?' My first series—my Rosemont series—was born in that."
Hinske wrote under her maiden name just in case she turned out to be "a terrible writer." She has since published a whopping 22 books. What's more, Guiding Emily was transcribed into Braille and replaced Huckleberry Finn as the official handbook for newly blind adults learning Braille.
Guiding Emily viewers will notice the film's insistence on the kindness of strangers — something Hinske witnesses all the time, and injects in all of her books. It's also of immense value in the visually impaired community, as Hinske explains:
"Especially in the context of a newly blind adult, you would think their family would be the most sympathetic and evidence the most kindness. Unfortunately, in the book, in the movie and in real life, that is not always the case. The divorce rate among newly blind adults is extraordinarily high, so sometimes these close personal relationships don't survive. But what is just magical is that, out of nowhere, someone appears and fills that gap."
Guiding Emily premieres Friday, Sept. 8 at 9/8c on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Barbara Hinske is hosting a virtual Guiding Emily watch party on Facebook Live on Sept. 8. Register for free on Hinske's website.
