The World I Live in

Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) was a deafblind American author, activist and lecturer. At nineteen months of age she came down with an illness, which, though it did not last for a particularly long time, left her deaf and blind. By age seven, she had invented over sixty different signs that she could use to communicate with her family. Graham Bell advised her parents to contact the Perkins Institute for the Blind, and the school delegated teacher and former student, Anne Sullivan (1866-1936), herself visually impaired and then only 20 years old, to become Helen's teacher. It was the beginning of a 49-year-long relationship. Helen Keller went on to become a world famous speaker and author. In total, she wrote twelve books and authored numerous articles. She is also remembered as an advocate for people with disabilities, as well as numerous causes. Keller wrote an autobiography called The Story of My Life, which was published in 1903, with the help of Anne Sullivan and Anne's husband John Macy. It includes letters that Helen wrote and the story of her life up to age 21.