The Story of My Life: Library Edition

Rating:
Summary: Helen Keller- The Story of My Life
Review: Helen Keller- The Story of My Life
By: Helen Keller
Reveiwed by: J. Yang
Period: P.4

In the first nineteen months of Helen Keller's life, she is a normal child like us. Suddenly, a high fever gets on Helen Keller and makes her deaf and blind. Forever, she is in a dark, silent world. Anne Sullivan is Helen's teacher. She teaches Helen how to communicate with signs and gestures. Helen Keller also learns to read and write.

What I liked about this book is that it is very deltailed. The story gives details on Helen's feelings, the enviroment, and whatever Helen Keller feels. "On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, dumb, expectant." You can actually feel how Helen Keller feels. When I read this book, I always feel how Helen feels. I guess the book is very descriptive!

Another thing I liked in this book was when Helen Keller was learning. Anne Sullivan is a great, loving teacher. Anne loved Helen. "Miss Sullivan put her arm gently round me and spelled into my hand, "I love Helen."" Helen asks about what was love, and Anne Sullivan said to her that love is in your heart. Anne is a very passionate person.

My favorite part of the book was when Helen went to the sea. She went with Anne Sullivan. Helen went into the sea for her first swim. All the waves were splashing on her. Helen Keller drank some of the water up and then she said, "Who put salt in the water?" Finally, Anne Sullivan carried Helen out of the water for a little rest.

Rating:
Summary: A STORY WORTH TELLING
Review: I first read this book in 6th grade. I have read it several times in the intervening years, the most recent time being within the past one year.

Helen Keller, blind and deaf since the age of 1 1/2 has offered, in her own words an accounting of her life experience. It is incredible to imagine how this woman, unable to see or hear can give such a strong voice to descriptions of nature. The book is replete with beautiful, articulate metaphors that draw the reader into the world as Helen knew it. One wonders how a person with no language can "think," and Helen provides some clues. During these "dark days," prior to the arrival of her "Teacher," Annie Sullivan, Helen's life was a series of desires and impressions. She could commnicate by a series of crude signs she and her parents had created. She demonstrated early on that she could learn.

I like the way Helen herself takes her readers past that water pump when she learned that "all things have a name." Instead of getting stuck there, Helen takes her readers on the journey of her life to that point.

In addition to having a good linguistic base, Helen also demonstrates having a phenomenal memory. When she was twelve, she wrote a story she believed to be her own. Entitled "The Frost King," it bore a strong resemblance to one written by a Ms. Canby called "The Frost Fairies." Many of the sentences are identical and a good number of the descriptions are paraphrased. In relating this devasting incident, Helen and Annie recall that Annie had exposed Helen to the story some three years earlier and Helen had somehow retained that information. This plainly shows intelligence.

Both the "Frost" stories are reprinted in full, thus giving the reader a chance to see just how amazing being able to remember such a work really was.

Helen describes her work raising money for other deaf-blind children to attend the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston and in so doing, embarks upon her lifelong mission as a crusader for multiply challenged individuals.

Rating:
Summary: The Story of a Remarkable Woman
Review: I had heard of Helen Keller but didn't really know what she was about.

It's a 5-star overall story. But in terms of language style and story-telling, it's 4-star for me (understandably, it's 100 years ago).

Helen Keller wrote this in her 20s, while pursuing her degree at Radcliffe. So this is not her whole life, but wow.. what an amazing story!

A girl is blind and deaf, and I would probably give up on her. But I'm ashamed of myself for that. Helen Keller was deaf and blind and yet this didn't stop her. She's bright and strong-headed. The power of self-determination combined with the great help from the wonderfully patient teacher in Anne Sullivan opened the door for her. Her desire to communicate with people, and her passion to "be normal" made her who she had accomplished to be.

How did she "listen"? How did she "speak"? How did she write? She did all that and was good at them. Astonishingly unimaginable. And with such a kind heart, she could easily make a more complete person that we "normal" people can.

"Helen sees more with her hands that we do with our eyes."

Simply admirable.

Rating:
Summary: Many had to read this
Review: Many had to read this book in school, along with other great and inspiritationl reads such as "The Diary of Anne Frank" or even great fiction like "To Kill a Mockingbird." And the reason I didn't have to read it is probably the one that causes me to like it so much. I came to this book while an adult, after reading something on the Internet about Keller. Fascinated, I delved into her life and all that was around it. Hence, my first foray into her past was "The Story of My Life." This is a remarkable little book regardless of who wrote it, but consider the source and it's absolutely amazing. The sheer precision and depth this book has is just astounding. Yes, it's inspiritational, but besides that, it's one heck of a well-put-together book!

Also, if you are interested in Helen Keller's life, please try two other great reads: The first is a bio by Herrmann which delves more into the minutae of Keller's life, and the second is a work of fiction which has quotes from "The Story of My Life" at the beginning of each of its chapters. This book is called "The Bark of the Dogwood," and while it's pretty shocking and steamy in places, it ultimately takes it's inspiration from Keller, along with a host of other southerners.