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andreatypesbraille's review
I'm not rating this book, however I do believe everyone should read this book.
Haben was born deafblind to parents who are Eritrean refugee immigrants. She has some vision and some hearing still left, but she had to learn from a young age how to advocate for herself, and also how to live independently. Haben has travelled numerous times to Africa, both with family as well as with a school club, with whom she built a school in Mali. Haben went on to college at Lewis and Clark College, living without her family support, and excelled. Haben then went on to Harvard Law School, where she passed the bar and became a lawyer, fighting for accessibility rights.
Perhaps I'm a bit biased, as I do work with the blind, but I think this so wonderfully showed how important it is for those with vision impairments to develop independent living skills, as well as learning how to advocate for oneself. Haben is a prime example of how a disability or impairment is not a roadblock to living life to the fullest.
My one issue with the book was the tone. Although I haven't seen a recommendation for middle grade, this often felt like it was intended for middle grade readers. The writing is very simple, and the humor is very ... gentle? I was hoping as the book progressed for the tone to change a bit into an adult voice. However, this book will be great for a middle grade reader up through adults.
Haben was born deafblind to parents who are Eritrean refugee immigrants. She has some vision and some hearing still left, but she had to learn from a young age how to advocate for herself, and also how to live independently. Haben has travelled numerous times to Africa, both with family as well as with a school club, with whom she built a school in Mali. Haben went on to college at Lewis and Clark College, living without her family support, and excelled. Haben then went on to Harvard Law School, where she passed the bar and became a lawyer, fighting for accessibility rights.
Perhaps I'm a bit biased, as I do work with the blind, but I think this so wonderfully showed how important it is for those with vision impairments to develop independent living skills, as well as learning how to advocate for oneself. Haben is a prime example of how a disability or impairment is not a roadblock to living life to the fullest.
My one issue with the book was the tone. Although I haven't seen a recommendation for middle grade, this often felt like it was intended for middle grade readers. The writing is very simple, and the humor is very ... gentle? I was hoping as the book progressed for the tone to change a bit into an adult voice. However, this book will be great for a middle grade reader up through adults.
akivau123's review against another edition
2.5
Started at a 2, eventually picked up and got better but I didn’t think it was well written. Had to power through to get through it. Inspirational nonetheless.
ghost_rider's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
melanna's review
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Haben is a wonderful writer with a fantastic, playful sense of humour. She brings her audience right into her world and advocates so well for both herself but also her community. I have a fairly good sense of accommodations that are needed in public spaces in order to be inclusive but she called me to action to make sure that my work is even more so.
karinlib's review
4.0
I really liked this memoir by Haben Girma who was the first Deafblind woman to attend Harvard (and succeed). Although I have always been fascinated with law school, and I had wished that she had discussed more about her time at Harvard (I have read [b:One L|14914326|One L|Scott Turow|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|8282] by [a:Scott Turow|2749|Scott Turow|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208462425p2/2749.jpg] 3 times), I am so glad she wrote this book about her experiences.
shai631's review
5.0
As the title states, this is the story of a deaf-blind Black woman, all of the -isms she encounters, and how she overcame them. I am rarely able to say that a book is inspiring but it is a fitting description for this book. She has all of these "disabilities" (which, BTW, she dislikes that term), and does more with her life than many of us could even begin to imagine doing with ours.
She travels all around the globe. She doesn't fear people and embraces new experiences. Everyone has fears but she charges forward through life determined not to let anything hold her back. I wish I had the cojones she has, even sliding off a mountainside all on her own. I don't know that I could do that even with my sight and hearing. When her school's cafeteria didn't provide menus in Braille, she threatened a lawsuit to make them email her and the other blind people in the school the menu the night before. Her love of advocacy gave her the determination to power through her studies at Harvard Law School and become an attorney and I'll leave you to find out the rest of her story.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a feel-good book, a short read, or a biography.
She travels all around the globe. She doesn't fear people and embraces new experiences. Everyone has fears but she charges forward through life determined not to let anything hold her back. I wish I had the cojones she has, even sliding off a mountainside all on her own. I don't know that I could do that even with my sight and hearing. When her school's cafeteria didn't provide menus in Braille, she threatened a lawsuit to make them email her and the other blind people in the school the menu the night before. Her love of advocacy gave her the determination to power through her studies at Harvard Law School and become an attorney and I'll leave you to find out the rest of her story.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a feel-good book, a short read, or a biography.