"I do not object to harsh criticism," said Helen Keller, "so long as I am treated like a human being who has a mind of her own." The Story of My Life, published when Keller was just twenty-two, is not only the assertoin of a yong woman that she does indeed have a mind of her own, but the story of how she came to be that lively and intelligent yong woman.
Most of us know Helen Keller as the little deaf and blind girl who triumphed over adversity to become worldfamous. Perhaps we have seen the movie The Miracle Worker, with its well-known scene where Keller discovers the meaning of the word water. Perhaps we have heard—of even told—Helen Keller jokes. But as The Story of My Life shows, Keller's life is neither a miracle nor a joke. It is a tremendous achievement. Seemingly destined to be imprisoned in darkness and isolation for rest of her life, Keller built upon the brilliant work of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, to become a nationally recognized and respected figure.
Keller's determination to learn, her passion for experience, and her refusal to allow society to define her are inspiring, but they are somewhat daunting, too. How can any of us hope to be as strong as Helen Keller? Yet, reading Keller's story, we see that she is still human. Like us, she sometimes loses her temper when she doesn't get her way. She gets irritated by people's ignorance. She even complains about doing her homework.
More than anything else, The Story of My Life is a journey of discovery. Language allowed Helen Keller to discover the world, and language is the means she uses to try to make sense of it, and herself. She asks perhaps the most important question we can ask as human beings—Who am I? —and in answering that question, she tells us something of who we are.