Breathe To Read

Breathe To Read

Monday, April 3, 2017

2017 Challenge - Book #32 - The Story of My Life

First book of April in the books

The Story of My Life



This was under the category: An Autobiography

This is a composition of Helen Keller's diaries, notes, and observations from her childhood up through her time in college.  She talks openly of what it was like to be blind and deaf, to finally learn once a teacher was brought to her that could help her learn to communicate, and how she decided what she was going to study in college.  She talks openly about her disability and how hard it was for her to go to college knowing her professors could not communicate well with her and it would be hard for her to access the curriculum.

The story of Helen Keller is near and dear to me.  Having a daughter who is legally blind, Helen Keller is an inspiration.  I see what she was able to accomplish at the turn of the century, and how far accessibility has come for the blind.  Helen was reliant on her teacher so much more than students today are.  Technology for the blind plus the development of cochlear implants for the deaf has changed the world for these two classes of disabilities.

As for the book, well.....it was fine.  IT was a little boring - as I am sure more people would find reading anyone's diary a bit boring.  I wanted to hear more about her story and and her struggle, but what it mostly was - was her mundane day to day activities.  Almost to a fault she would explain visits from people in great detail.  It was constant positive spin from Helen's point of view.  She seemed to live an extremely normal life according to her account.  What was revealing was actually notes at the end that spoke more of the truth about Helen and her daily life.  (as in - she still had a very difficult getting around even her most familiar environments).  I would rather it has been more truthful than all rainbows and sunshine.

Stars: 2


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