Monarch is Making a Difference: Eden Brown’s Story

A court reporter and musician, Eden Brown is a Washington local who is blind. Her curiosity and willingness to try new things has made her a collector of braille tools, most recently adding a Monarch to the list.  

No one is more surprised at her ownership and enjoyment of the Monarch than Brown herself, noting that her initial introduction to the Monarch was disappointing and confusing. Brown had the opportunity to try out the new device when someone at a local school for the blind in Washington had a Monarch. “I felt like I couldn’t read anything with the membrane,” said Brown. As the positive reviews for Monarch kept flowing in from friends in Brown’s life and online, she decided to give it another try. “I’m the kind of person who likes to do their full research. If my experience doesn’t compute with what other people are experiencing, I want to find out why,” said Brown.  

Chris Cooke, a friend of Brown’s and explorer of the Monarch, was happy to let her friend spend some more time on the device. After plenty of research and practice reading on the Monarch, Brown decided she would take a leap and purchase her own. “After discovering my dislike of the membrane was due to a flawed membrane, I tried another,” wrote Brown in a Facebook post on July 29, 2025. “I think it will be a worthy purchase.” A few weeks later, Brown took to Facebook again to share what she thought of her new device. “I can’t believe I’m now sitting here the proud owner of a Monarch… This is so exciting, and it’s great for music. I’m so glad I didn’t give up, even if my first impression wasn’t the greatest,” wrote Brown.  

The Monarch has proven to be monumental in Brown’s reading experience, both for work and for fun. In a job that relies so much on note taking, reviewing notes, and editing documents; reading through on a multi-line display has been a game changer. Rather than having to sift one-line at a time through multiple pages of notes, Brown can skim paragraphs, jump headings, and navigate through large documents to get what she needs easily. When it comes to her creative passions, Brown is an avid reader of both books and music. Alongside the benefits of multi-line display for reading novels and longer documents, the Monarch makes reading sheet music simpler and more enjoyable for music lovers like Brown. “I’ve always wanted to compose my own music, but I haven’t wanted to keep around that much hard-copy braille. Now, I am able to upgrade my sheet music and eventually compose my own,” said Brown. 

After 6 months using the Monarch, Brown is still glad she made her purchase and is even more excited for the future of the device. “I am excited to see the Monarch continue to develop. I have found it to be incredibly useful and will be continuing to use it,” said Brown.