Out of the Dark: Essays, Lectures, and Addresses on Physical and Social Vision

In this marvelous collection of essays, Helen Keller discusses the importance of education and the many challenges she and other blind and deaf people faced in the world.

Famous for leading a successful and distinguished life in spite of suffering from profound sensory disablement, Helen Keller's spirit and wisdom is in the fullest presentation in these essays. She writes with deep insight into the prejudices and difficulties which blind and deaf people face in leading their lives. An absence of support and resources meant many went without even basic tutoring; a situation which Keller dedicated a lifetime of activism to amend.

Other interesting entries include a discussion of celebrating Christmas, a 1906 letter to the famous author Mark Twain, and Keller's appraisals of the works of past literary figures. It is clear that she took great inspiration from the writings of authors and their philosophies. Indeed the adversity which she combated, and the positive response her activism produced, is partly due to Keller's appetite for learning and her talent for eloquent expression. Overall, these essays shine for their insight into a great soul who mounted several successful campaigns for the disabled, for women, and for the marginalized of society.