starness 's review for:

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

4.0

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A remarkable story of a remarkable woman who defeats all the odds stacked against her. Helen at the age of 19 months old contracts an illness that renders her both deaf and blind. This story mainly focuses on Helen's earlier life and describes how she learns to read, write and communicate with the aide of her teacher Miss Sullivan after her family decide to take her to the Perkins Institute for the blind in Boston in 1886, Anne Sullivan becomes instrumental in her life teaching her methods in communicating but then also later becoming a loyal friend and constant companion, her part in Helen's life I believe is paramount to Helen's wellbeing and where her love of learning and discovering develops. She describes in abundance her love of reading books, her appreciation of the written word leads her to forge ahead into higher education and takes on many courses to further her academics she becomes frustrated as her determination is impeded by the lack of ways that she is able to articulate her knowledge in the conventional ways and finds many methods to overcome many of the obstacles that threaten to detract her. She eventually succeeds in attending Radcliffe college and graduates there at the age of 24. This story is told beautifully in a tone that really captures the essence of Helen, she's feisty, stubborn willful and determined with an incorrigible thirst for knowledge, how she overcomes so much to succeed and even excel in her endeavours is truly admirable. She is one of a kind! I'm so glad to have read this book and it's infinitely inspiring on so many levels.