The World I Live In

The World I Live In - Helen Keller
Most people know the story of Helen Keller (1880-1968). Struck totally deaf and blind by a mysterious illness at nineteen months, Helen spent five years in frustrating isolation. Through the efforts of her persistent teacher, Anne Sullivan, Helen learned how to communicate through her hands. Through language, the world was opened to Helen, and Helen to the world. Helen’s brilliance and her love for life are evident in her writings. Her second book, The World I Live In, first published in 1908, addresses a variety of subjects, but most notably, her perception of the world apart from the dominant senses of sight and sound. One would think that her imagination and experience would be limited by her disability. Quite the contrary, her descriptions of the world are rich, full, and captivating – an amazing feat for one who never saw or heard a single thing in her life. Her access to the world came exclusively through touch, smell, and taste. These limited senses, combined with her imagination and language, allowed her to experience the world in a unique way. They allowed her to see, even though blind. Click HERE for my extended reflection on her experience of touch as the dominant sense. Coming soon: a piece on her essay on optimism!