The Story of My Life ebook may be downloaded for free from our ebook catalog.
Helen Keller probably needs no introduction, but if perchance you have not heard of her, here is a brief introduction.
Helen was born in June of 1880 in a tiny town in northern Alabama. She was nineteen months old and had just begun to talk when she contracted an unnamed disease, described by her doctor only as "acute congestion of the stomach and brain." The doctor's prognosis was that Helen would not live. She pulled through, but not before the disease had robbed her of her sight and hearing.
Helen was fortunate to have been born to loving and patient (and apparently well-to-do) parents who made every effort to stimulate the senses left to Helen and to seek help when it was time to educate her. At the suggestion of a family friend, Alexander Graham Bell, the family contacted Boston's Perkins Institute for the Blind, which sent Anne Sullivan to tutor Helen. Anne Sullivan would later be called "The Miracle Worker," and a movie by the same name would reflect the story in this book (and win an Oscar for a very young Patty Duke.)
Blossoming under Anne's insightful instruction, Helen went on not only to pass the entrance exams for Radcliffe college but to graduate from this prestigious educational institution in 1904. Finishing Radcliffe alone was quite an accomplishment for a woman of that time, but for a deaf and blind woman, the accomplishment was nothing less than super human. Modestly, in her life story, she gives all the credit to her family, Alexander Graham Bell and Anne Sullivan.
The most surprising thing about Helen Keller's autobiography is how literate she is. The most enjoyable aspect of The Story of My Life is her passion for books. She discusses her favorite classics which she read in English, Greek, Latin, French and German. She mentioned that it was difficult to get books in Braille, and when she was required by a course to read a certain work that was not yet published in Braille, Anne Sullivan would have to spell out the book in the palm of Helen's hand so that she could keep up with her class. When Helen did get hold of a Braille book, she devoured it. What a joy it must have been to read to herself, possibly 50 times faster than Anne could communicate the words to her through finger signing. Helen also mentions her other "best friend," the typewriter, which allowed her to write her school papers and later her book.
Another enjoyable aspect of The Story of My Life is that if you ever feel sorry for yourself for what you don't have or what you are currently struggling with, your deficiencies and struggles may suddenly seem minor in comparison to Helen's.
The version of The Story of My Life offered by Girlebooks includes selected letters and reports that demonstrate Helen's gradual mastery of the English language, including punctuation. If you do not have time to read all of them, I recommend that you scan them to see her journey from minimally literate to accomplished writer. A third section includes the reports given by Anne Sullivan, which will give further insight into Helen's progress as a student.
Do you know where I could you find The story of my life in braille?
Arlene, this is truly appalling. I thought it would be the easiest thing in the world to find this book (especially this book!) in braille, but I looked and looked at the local Public Library site, Amazon braille books, and two websites that specialize in braille books, and could find nothing. If the person in question can handle audio books, the Kindle reader will read the ebook out loud to the reader. I have tried this on my old e-ink Kindle, and it works well, although without much expression in the voice. I'm not a good source of opinion regarding this feature, however, because my hearing is not good.
I still think, however, that if one went in person to a local public library or a school library, one could find the book in braille. In Texas, we have Education Service Centers that service the public schools. The one where I worked (Region 20, San Antonio) had a service for printing braille books for the school. It certainly would be nice to find a public print-on-demand service for braille books. Perhaps there is one. Readers, if you know anything about this, please let us know.