The Story of My Life

About this book

Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing to an illness when she was nineteen months old and grew up a wild, frustrated child in Alabama, unable to communicate. Then, when she was almost seven, a young teacher, Anne Sullivan, arrived and began spelling words into her hand. One day at the water pump Helen suddenly understood that the letters w-a-t-e-r meant the cool something flowing over her hand, and a whole world opened. She tells how she learned to read, write and speak, and how she entered Radcliffe College.

Context and significance

Keller (1880–1968) wrote this autobiography while still a student at Radcliffe, and it was published in 1903 with her letters and an account of her education that includes Anne Sullivan's own reports. Keller became the first deaf-blind person to earn a university degree and a world-famous campaigner for the rights of disabled people. Compare Up from Slavery.

About the author