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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
So incredibly well written, especially when you consider that this person was not only blind and deaf, but also still fairly young when she wrote it. However, I did find myself being bored at times. It was very interesting to learn about her education, but it kind of felt like her education was the only thing she talked about especially towards the end. I did love the section that showcases her letters because it was very interesting to see her growth in her writing, but I ended up skimming towards the end. Make no mistake though. I do think Helen Keller was an incredible and inspiring woman!
I really enjoyed her words and insight. Amazing woman.
Aren't we in the midst of a Helen Keller revival? I like to think so. Or—don't call it a comeback. Fascinating to me as a writer is how Keller had to type her story continuously. I can't type a sentence without going back and having to rewrite it. Or perhaps it's more intriguing that she lived with Anne Sullivan finger-spelling constantly in her hand. While blind and deaf would be isolating in a one way, how nice to have someone always there, experiencing the world with you with a light touch, how less lonely. If that weren't enough, Keller describes her love of riding a tandem bicycle! Throughout, her fearlessness inspires. Every day should be Helen Keller day.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
Beautifully written autobiography of Helen Keller's early life that I read originally when I was way too young to understand. It's really a shame no one seems to know much about her anymore.
This story only covers the first 20 year of Helen Keller's life. It was so intimately written and felt as if she were a dear friend. I had forgotten or did I really know that she was not born deaf and blind but it was due to an illness when she was right around 18 months old. She truly was a remarkable woman and accomplished a great deal in the first 20 years of her life - a college education and she read and spoke fluently English, French, German and Latin. WOW!
I'm sorry, but this story, although completely inspirational, was also just absolutely horrifying. I can't imagine having Miss Keller's experience and tried to read this as fast as possible so I could take my mind off of it. But Helen she seemed so sweet and good. And props to her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Job had nothing on her patience.
This isn't the longest autobiography you're ever going to read, but to be fair, she did write it when she was only in her 20s. And even at that point she'd had a pretty amazing life.
Helen Keller was born into a well-off American family in the late 1880s. Whilst still very small, she became very ill and ended up deaf and virtually blind - it says blind on the book, but she must have some very limited vision, as I get the impression she could distinguish light from dark, and that she could also on some occasions lip read. Even so, it put her in a really tough starting point considering she hadn't yet learned to read and write, and had barely got going on talking, which ended up taking a long pause before she could learn to speak again.
In a lot of ways this is just the story of a young woman growing up - she gets up to mischief with her playmates, spends a lot of time studying for fun (I get the impression the family were rich) and goes to college. She doesn't want you to feel sorry for her - she certainly doesn't feel sorry for herself. It's a very honest, frank account of her life, perhaps having a wee axe to grind here and there, in particular when she's justifying herself over this plagarised story. Heck, she was only 10 or 12 at the time. I can't believe she actually went to some kind of court over it!
One person that is fascinating in this book, and whom I did feel sorry for, was Anne Sullivan, Helen's tutor/companion. She originally came to the family as a private tutor to teach Helen sign language, reading - and from that deal with all her everyday education in the usual subjects once the medium of communication was sorted out. She then stays with Helen, being a kind of translator between the rest of the world and Helen, going to colleague and university with her, having to sign all the lessons and books into her hand. This woman gave up her life to help Helen. I read online that she did later get married - but even this was all about Helen, as the three of them lived together before the marriage shortly failed.
She doesn't want you to feel sorry for her, and she says she's led a rich life, with many experiences, which I believe. But it's hard to imagine this and how she experiences the world. And it makes you grateful for your own senses - that I can sit and read a book and listen to music.
Helen Keller was born into a well-off American family in the late 1880s. Whilst still very small, she became very ill and ended up deaf and virtually blind - it says blind on the book, but she must have some very limited vision, as I get the impression she could distinguish light from dark, and that she could also on some occasions lip read. Even so, it put her in a really tough starting point considering she hadn't yet learned to read and write, and had barely got going on talking, which ended up taking a long pause before she could learn to speak again.
In a lot of ways this is just the story of a young woman growing up - she gets up to mischief with her playmates, spends a lot of time studying for fun (I get the impression the family were rich) and goes to college. She doesn't want you to feel sorry for her - she certainly doesn't feel sorry for herself. It's a very honest, frank account of her life, perhaps having a wee axe to grind here and there, in particular when she's justifying herself over this plagarised story. Heck, she was only 10 or 12 at the time. I can't believe she actually went to some kind of court over it!
One person that is fascinating in this book, and whom I did feel sorry for, was Anne Sullivan, Helen's tutor/companion. She originally came to the family as a private tutor to teach Helen sign language, reading - and from that deal with all her everyday education in the usual subjects once the medium of communication was sorted out. She then stays with Helen, being a kind of translator between the rest of the world and Helen, going to colleague and university with her, having to sign all the lessons and books into her hand. This woman gave up her life to help Helen. I read online that she did later get married - but even this was all about Helen, as the three of them lived together before the marriage shortly failed.
She doesn't want you to feel sorry for her, and she says she's led a rich life, with many experiences, which I believe. But it's hard to imagine this and how she experiences the world. And it makes you grateful for your own senses - that I can sit and read a book and listen to music.
I read the children's version of this book first when I was little and then her words. Brilliant. A remarkable woman with an amazing story.
It is really a shame that all I have ever really known or been exposed to about Helen Keller through my own education was the tale of a little. blind, deaf and dumb girl who acted out of control until a teacher was sent from afar to separate her. from her family and teach her the meaning of water. That, and some horrible, mean jokes in middle school. This book, in
her words, reveals a person who overcame severe disabilities to shine through and demonstrate the power of education. While reading this I kept thinking about how much her experiences ring true now--that learning can happen for all children but metbods often must be modified to fit a child's needs. Are most schools able to.provide that kind of education? Likely not. Helen Keller was a star in her own time, with numerous benefactors supporting her efforts. This notoriety allowed her to champion the cause of other "poor little" children with the same limitations she had. The book contained letters from Helen to many people and were probably more enjoyable to me than the autobiography since her voice in the letters was somewhat less formal and allowed more humor and irritation and gratitude to come forth. Also in the letters her real love and appreciation for her teacher, Annie Sullivan is expressed. Reading this was a wonderful experience.
her words, reveals a person who overcame severe disabilities to shine through and demonstrate the power of education. While reading this I kept thinking about how much her experiences ring true now--that learning can happen for all children but metbods often must be modified to fit a child's needs. Are most schools able to.provide that kind of education? Likely not. Helen Keller was a star in her own time, with numerous benefactors supporting her efforts. This notoriety allowed her to champion the cause of other "poor little" children with the same limitations she had. The book contained letters from Helen to many people and were probably more enjoyable to me than the autobiography since her voice in the letters was somewhat less formal and allowed more humor and irritation and gratitude to come forth. Also in the letters her real love and appreciation for her teacher, Annie Sullivan is expressed. Reading this was a wonderful experience.