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Haben Girma - Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law

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Haben Girma Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law
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Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law: summary, description and annotation

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The incredible life story of Haben Girma, the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, and her amazing journey from isolation to the world stage.

Haben grew up spending summers with her family in the enchanting Eritrean city of Asmara. There, she discovered courage as she faced off against a bull she couldnt see, and found in herself an abiding strength as she absorbed her parents harrowing experiences during Eritreas thirty-year war with Ethiopia. Their refugee story inspired her to embark on a quest for knowledge, traveling the world in search of the secret to belonging. She explored numerous fascinating places, including Mali, where she helped build a school under the scorching Saharan sun. Her many adventures over the years range from the hair-raising to the hilarious.
Haben defines disability as an opportunity for innovation. She learned non-visual techniques for everything from dancing salsa to handling an electric saw. She developed a text-to-braille communication system that created an exciting new way to connect with people. Haben pioneered her way through obstacles, graduated from Harvard Law, and now uses her talents to advocate for people with disabilities.
HABEN takes readers through a thrilling game of blind hide-and-seek in Louisiana, a treacherous climb up an iceberg in Alaska, and a magical moment with President Obama at The White House. Warm, funny, thoughtful, and uplifting, this captivating memoir is a testament to one womans determination to find the keys to connection.

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Copyright 2019 Haben Girma Cover design by Jarrod Taylor Cover copyright - photo 1

Copyright 2019 Haben Girma

Cover design by Jarrod Taylor. Cover copyright 2019 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

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First ebook edition: August 2019

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Girma, Haben, 1988-, author.
Title: Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law / By Haben Girma.
Description: New York: Twelve, 2019.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018050294| ISBN 9781538728727 (hardcover) | ISBN
9781478992813 (audio download) | ISBN 9781538728710 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Girma, Haben, 1988- | Lawyers with disabilitiesUnited
StatesBiography. | Women lawyersUnited StatesBiography.
Classification: LCC KF373.G567 A3 2019 | DDC 340.092 [B]dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050294

ISBNs: 978-1-5387-2872-7 (hardcover), 978-1-5387-2871-0 (ebook)

E3-20190709-NF-DA-ORI

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.

Helen Keller

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Im Deafblind Because I cant see faces or recognize voices every conversation - photo 2

Im Deafblind. Because I cant see faces or recognize voices, every conversation needs to start with a name. My friends begin conversations like this: Its Cam, Its Gordon, or if someone is drinking, Its me.

My name is Haben. Ha like ha-ha, and ben like benevolent.

Deafblindness encompasses a spectrum of vision and hearing loss, from the guy squinting at conversations signed three feet in front of his face, to the woman pounding the pavement with her white cane while analyzing traffic sounds through her hearing aids. I was born Deafblind. At age twelve I could walk into a room and see the indistinct outline of a person sitting on top of the long, blurred shape of a couch. That image fades more and more every year. Now, walking into a room is like stepping into an abstract painting of fuzzy formations and colorful splashes.

My hearing follows a similar path. I was born with poor low frequency hearing and good high frequency hearing. Speech intelligence relies on high frequency consonants, so I intuitively learned to speak at a high vocal register. At age twelve I could hear my parents if they sat next to me and spoke slowly and clearly. Now, we communicate with the assistance of technology, such as a keyboard paired with a braille computer.

Communities designed with just one kind of person in mind isolate those of us defying their narrow definition of personhood. This book takes readers on a quest for connection across the world, including building a school under the scorching Malian sun, climbing icebergs in Alaska, training with a guide dog in New Jersey, studying law at Harvard, and sharing a magical moment with President Obama at the White House. Unlike most memoirs, the stories here unfold in present tense. Hindsight may be 20/20, but 20/20 is not how I experience this ever-surprising world.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Summer 1995.

Two men in uniforms stand in the aisle of the plane, towering over Daddy. I watch from the seat next to him, straining to see the shadowy figures. Their curt tones trigger the sensation of mosquitos stabbing my skin.

Daddy unbuckles his seatbelt. I have to go, he tells me.

The two men escort him off the plane. For the first time in my seven-year-old life, Im alone.

I stare down the aisle. My field of vision ends at around five feet. A person walks by wheeling a bag. Two kids go by with backpacks.

I sink into my seat and close my eyes. This plane is supposed to take us to London, then another plane will get us back to America. I was born and raised in Oakland, California. Daddy grew up in Ethiopia, so we came here for the summer. My mom and sister plan to enjoy two more weeks of vacation before returning to the United States.

Memories from the summer play through my mind: dancing on the dusty streets with my sister and the neighborhood kids, baking raisin bread with Mommy, swimming in the Red Sea with Daddy

My eyes open. I stare down the aisle again. No one walks by. Everyone has boarded.

Its been an hour. Why isnt he back?

An invisible chain of tension squeezes my throat. The pain climbs up my neck to my head. I take deep breaths, struggling to hold on to hope.

An announcement blasts through the PA system. The sound washes over me in incoherent murmurs, accelerating my pulse to a dizzying clip.

All my life Ive heard stories of Ethiopian soldiers tearing families apart. Soldiers threw Mommy in jail just for refusing to sing a song. Ethiopia claimed the neighboring country Eritrea, and for thirty years Eritreans fought for independence. Daddy was born and raised in Ethiopia, but his father, Grandpa Kidane, is Eritrean. During the war, Eritreans living in Ethiopia became targets. The war ended in 1991, though. Its supposed to be safe for Eritreans visiting Ethiopia. Why did they take Daddy?

The thought demolishes me like a kick to the stomach. I gasp for air as the pain spreads through my body.

Why didnt our American citizenship stop them from separating us?

My eyes study his empty seat. Hes gone. I touch the seat, even though I already know. Hes gone. My hand feels a seatbelt. His seatbelt. The long smooth strap contrasts with the sharp metal buckle, the buckle that failed to keep him safe.

Strong vibrations shake the jet. The engines rattle every nerve from the soles of my feet to the back of my neck.

Burning pain tightens around my chest, climbing all the way up to my cheekbones. Breathing hurts. My nose labors for air as I fight against the suffocating fear.

I need Daddy. Who will help me navigate the world? I dont know how to find my next flight when we land in London. I dont even know the international number to reach Mommy.

A flight attendant looms over my seat. Mumble, mumble, mumble. She drops to my level. Mumble, mumble, mumble.

Terror clamps my mouth shut. Pain immobilizes every muscle. The only movement comes from my tears.

The flight attendant speaks again. Mumble, mumble, mumble.

I stare at her, begging her to hear my thoughts. Bring back Daddy.

She rises to her full height, turns, and disappears.

Another flight attendant stands at the head of the aisle. From her gestures I know shes going over the safety procedures. Too late. My life has already crashed.

My hands squeeze the seatbelt Daddy used. Thats when I discover moisture on the metal buckle.

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