The Story of My Life is the autobiography of Helen Keller, the woman who literally conquered darkness and silence, with sheer willpower, grit and the loving guidance of an incredible teacher. Helen Keller wrote this book as a student at the age of 22. The book is in two parts. In the first part she describes her transformation from a child with no language to an accomplished young woman about to graduate from one of her country’s most prestigious colleges. The second half is in the form of a compilation of letters from her early childhood to adulthood years, which she wrote to her family and friends.
It has everything you want from a book, from inspiration, imagination, and heartbreak, to conflict, struggle and triumph. But what’s more heartening is the light-hearted, honest voice with which she narrates her story. She writes with flair about her struggles to educate herself and she does not mince her words.
‘People who think that all sensations reach us through the eye and the ear have expressed surprise that I should notice any difference, except possibly the absence of pavements, between walking the city streets and in the country road.’ she writes and goes on to enthrall the reader with the visuals and sounds of the city and country life, further expressing why she prefers the country life better.
This book is extraordinary in so many ways. It has everything you want in a book – from the inspiration, imagination, conflict and triumph of an underdog story to the evocative imagery, symbolism, wit, and candidness that only an accomplished writer can offer.
I am in awe of Helen Keller, and her story and her literary flair. And even as I write this, I realise how very futile it is, to try and capture the enormity of it all, in a few words. It is one of those rare books, which when you read them, you are filled with gratitude for life itself.
