Helen Keller

AGAINST ALL ODDS

Okoli Collins
Nov 5 · 2 min read

An insight into Helen Keller’s unbelievable achievement; a blind woman turned scholar.


Helen Keller was a healthy child until a terrible illness and a severe fever left her both blind and deaf at the age of 19 months.

Her childhood was violent due to her handicaps and inability to communicate.

But help did come at the age of seven in the form of Anne Sullivan, a young teacher who taught Helen the sign language and when Helen realized the true meanings of word, her hunger for knowledge accelerated.

Helen later on attended Horace Mann school for the deaf where she received speech lessons. She continued her education at all cost, studying both general academics and communication.

She went on to attend college at Radcliffe college where with the help of Anne Sullivan at her side for interpretation, she graduated Cum laude.

During her time at Radcliffe, she wrote her first book with editor and future husband John Macy which was a story about her life.

After her education, Anne took up lecturing, gave motivational talks, became a human rights activist and received numerous awards throughout her lifetime including a Medal of Honour as a result of her tireless endeavours.

Her story is one which still baffles the world to have been able to achieve such feat despite her handicaps.


This is one of my favourite biographies. It’s a story that teaches we can achieve it till the end despite shortcomings and setbacks.

You can be another Helen Keller, maybe even better if you persist and keep moving forward.

Okoli Collins

Written by

Sapiosexual, an adept writer, graphics designer, voracious reader, loves books, poems, and every other thing. Kindly follow, I follow back immediately 🙏😁

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