NorwichGrace - Helen keller: I Am Series, Book 3

I was the most famous child in the world because I learned to read, write, and even speak despite the fact that I was deaf and blind. People think my existence was a dark, soundless prison. Thats just not true.

Life is more than color and sound; I felt the world.

My senses of smell and touch were superhuman. Not only did I feel a pencil rolling off a table or a passing airplane thousands of feet in the sky while inside a house, but I could tell who was in the room below me by the particular vibrations of their steps. I smelled storms before they came, and I recognized what people did for a living by the scents on their clothes. Carpenters smelled of wood, doctors of sickness, and schoolteachers of chalk. Youd be surprised by how much is missed when you only look at a flower instead of touching and smelling it.

I shocked a lot of folks when I smiled at them as they walked into the room. But of course, its no miracle that I could recognize people I had met before. I smelled and felt their presence a mile away. Still, many acted like those abilities were gifts God gave me for being an angel. Believe me, I was no angel. I had a terrible temper at times and was known for being very stubborn. Plus, I spent a lot of money on fancy clothes and fancy dogs. What angel does that?

It actually hurt my feelings when others insisted that I was always sweet and earnest. More than anything else, I wanted to be an ordinary girl and take part in what I called the everyday nothings of life.

What made me extraordinary was my firm belief that all of us, no matter our abilities, have the right to an education, to do work thats interesting, and to make friends we like. Thats what I spent my entire life fighting for.

I wish I might be taken just as a normal person, I wrote, and my accomplishments treated simply as illustrations of how much more others can do if they only use their five senses with thought and perseverance.

I became one of the most famous Americans of all time because I never let my eyes and ears keep me from having a wonderful life. For someone who was blind, I sure could see a lot. I am Helen Keller.

HELLEN KELLER:

When a severe illness left her completely blind and deaf, Helen learned to read and write, then spent her life fighting for the rights of disabled people all over the world.

CAPTAIN ARTHUR KELLER:

Helens father, a strict southern gentleman who adored his daughter and would have done anything for her, but wasnt always able to because of his severe debt.

KATE KELLER:

Fiercely protective, Helens mother was sometimes unsure about her daughters close relationship with Annie, but she knew that the amazing teacher made everything in Helens life possible.

ANNE SULLIVAN:

After showing Helen the meanings of words and unlocking the outside world to her, Teacher (as Helen called her) never left her grateful pupils side.

MICHAEL ANAGNOS:

The director of the Perkins Institution for the Blind made Helens name famous by publicizing her achievements to the rest of the worldsometimes exaggerating them in the process.

JOHN ALBERT MACY:

A young Harvard English professor who, while helping Helen with her writing, fell in love with Annie.

POLLY THOMSON:

Hired in 1914 to help Helen and Annie organize their increasingly busy schedules, the Scottish woman became one of Helens lifelong companions.

PETER FAGAN:

A secretary who helped during one of Helens speaking tours; he and Helen fell in love and wanted to marry, but the Keller family shunned him and put a stop to the romance.

June 27, 1880

Helen Keller is born in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

1882

Helen loses her hearing and sight after a terrible illness.

1887

Annie Sullivan arrives at Helens home to become her teacher.

1888

Helen becomes a guest of the Perkins Institution.

1891

Helen gives Perkins director Michael Anagnos a story called The Frost King for his birthday, after which she is accused of plagiarizing it.

1894

Helen attends the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City.

August 19, 1896

Helens father, Captain Keller, passes away.

1900

Helen enters the freshman class at Radcliffe College.

1903

Helen publishes The Story of My Life .

1904

Helen graduates from Radcliffe, becoming the first deaf-blind person to receive that type of college degree.

1905

Annie marries John Macy.

1914

John and Annie split up; Polly Thomson joins the household.

1916

Helen and Peter Fagan fall in love.

1919

Deliverance , a silent movie based on Helens life, hits the theaters.

1920

Helen and Annie become vaudeville performers.