Customer Reviews

Helen and teacher: The story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy (Radcliffe biography series)

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The lives of Helen Keller and her teacher, Ann Sullivan Macy are eternally intertwined. Helen Keller, blind and deaf since infancy depended on Annie since the age of 6 when the latter was hired to teach her.

This comprehensive, fascinating and completely riviting biography does an excellent job of separating the two women's lives and analyzing each woman in her own right. Helen takes giant steps beyond the water pump where Annie first impressed upon her the concept of language. It is to this author's credit that the reader does not languish at that water pump, but follows these women throughout their lives.

The true symbiosis is fully described when other teachers as well as Helen's own mother Kate, try to separate her from Annie. Feeling that her maternal authority had been usurped, Kate understandably wanted to wean Helen from Annie. Each attempt by any person to effect such a change resulted in disaster. Even Annie's marriage to a gifted editor named John Macy ended in an acrimonious split because he felt Helen took up too large a portion of their lives together. From all accounts, Macy seemed to feel that Annie used the same domineering methods she had used on the child Helen with him. He also described Annie as "manipulative and controlling," which certainly seem like apt descriptions of her approach. Resentful of Helen's constant presence and feeling like an odd member of an equally odd triadic relationship, John retreats further from the marriage.

When Annie dies, Helen is disconsolate; she feels she can't survive without her "Teacher," although she, by that point had been at Annie's side for nearly half a century. A bright, progressive woman named Polly assumes the role of "Teacher," and Helen flourishes under her gentle tutlage and interpretation. Polly is clearly accepting of Helen's challenges and appears to make a sincere effort to see that Helen is fully included in all conversations and activities which she [Polly] is part of. One does not get the sense that Polly is a martyr. One gets the impression that Polly is loyal and determined with no agenda of her own.

Helen's relationship with Polly does appear to be much healthier than her relationship with Annie. This book fully explores Helen's character, her life experiences and the types of relationships she forged in the post-Teacher years with intelligence and sensitivity.

This is the best biography about Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller that I have read. Since I was a child I have been fascinated by them and have read everything that I could get my hands on. Lash goes beyond their heroism and describes Annie and Helen as real people with "feet of clay."

He relies heavily on voluminous correspondence to show the many facets of Helen and those in her life. Many of these details are not explained in other biographies. For example, Helen's father tried to shore up his finances with loans (often defaulted) from Helen's patrons. The "Frost King" incident caused many people to doubt Annie's veracity and credibility as a teacher for the rest of her life. Mr.Sandborn and Mr. Anagnos used the controversy to divert attention from Annie's role as Teacher to Helen and to re-focus attention on the role that the Perkins Institute played in her education. Lash also shows that John Macy had a complex relationship (for the good and the bad) with both Annie and with Helen. Helen was a radical Socialist and often risked her popularity and, therefore, their income by speaking out in support of Socialist leaders and causes. In the end the reader sees that Helen and many of those around her did great things, but they were not perfect. Insecurity, jealousy, money and a desire for love and fame caused all of them to act ugly sometimes.

The other point that was never clear to me before, is that Helen and Annie spent their lives marketing themselves in order to generate an income. Helen's father faced a serious financial downturn that prevented him from supporting them from Helen's young womanhood on. Therefore, to continue Helen's formal education and to maintain a home away from Alabama, they had to cultivate sponsors, write publishable material, and earn money speaking at a myriad of functions. In many ways, this was an uncertain life that dictated that they remain in good standing with public opinion at all times.

The other connection that Lash made for me concerns the complexity, the depth and the breadth of Annie and Helen's relationship. Because Annie suffered through a harrowing childhood, she desperately needed to create a loving family. Helen presented the perfect opportunity for Annie to be needed and to love and be loved unconditionally. While some people construed their relationship to be unhealthy or manipulative, it seems that it was a natural outgrowth of their particular situation. Once again, it was not perfect, but it served a huge need for them both.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a more realistic view of the lives of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan.

There is no need to read anything else on Helen Keller or Annie Sullivan Macy, because it is all included in this incredible biography. This in-depth look at these two remarkable women was both readable and throughly informative. Of all my research on Annie Sullivan, I have found nothing that is not mentioned in Mr. Lash's work; he has truly captured her spirit, along with her triumphant pupil.

AFB Press is the publishing arm of the American Foundation For The Blind. Helen And Teacher, written by biographer Joseph P. Lash and published by AFB Press, is a magnificent, 811-page opus that is the most comprehensive work ever done on the unique and moving story of a little blind, deaf and dumb girl, and the dedicated woman who brought her into contact with the world, and with people. The basic story is well known to the general public, the subject of stage plays and movies. But in Helen And Teacher, we are treated in exhaustive, definitive detail to this landmark biographical story of the human spirit. Also highly recommended from AFB Press is their wonderful little gift book, To Love This Life: Quotations By Helen Keller which is also available in an audiobook format.

I love this book and lost my copy so I got another. Joseph Lash thoroughly researched this book. He spent many, many hours in the archives of Perkins School for the Blind Library. This library has saved every publication by and about Helen Keller. This is a very in depth book and is also about 800 pages but it is well worth the read.

As a school child, I learnt of Helen Keller as a woman who struggled with blindness and deafness to become famous. Though I have always been curious of people with physical disabilities, something I can now attribute to Asperger's Syndrome making me inherently violent and self-centred, apart from knowing about the Braille alphabet (which she did not invent) it was not until relatively recently that I have become really curious about who Helen Keller was and what she did.

The size of "Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy" makes it look far from easy reading, but in fact the language all through from the beginning of Anne's life right to the last days when Helen was an aging celebrity is never dry or dull. Nonetheless, the amount of detail is superb and will offer surprises to the reader even after a number of reads. The early part of "Helen and Teacher" deals with the colourful life of Anne Sullivan Macy before she met Helen, and it surprises even me to find out how troubled a person she was. In some ways the story reminds one of what I have read about Margaret Sanger in her fierce struggle against repressive religious control to do work with the disadvantaged. The fever which caused Helen Keller's blindness and deafness, and the general character of her family and childhood, are rather more mundane but are described very well, especially in terms of how Helen's father, a veteran of the American Civil War, required considerable knowledge of famus people to be able to help her after she become blind and deaf.

After that comes the body of "Helen and Teacher" showing how Anne Sullivan Macy helped Helen Keller to first communicate and then become a celebrity for her work as a writer and with later generations of blind and deaf people. The whole of this section is full of quotations that add perfectly to the text though showing exactly how Helen Keller developed her ability to write and speak, and how by the time she was a teenager Helen was already a prolific letter-writer, which led to her classic The Story of My Life and to many later less famous writings. In the process Joseph Lash does not fail to cover any significant person in Helen Keller's life and looks equivocally at the problems as well as the highlights of Keller's transformation into a celebrity and later into a political radical. The difficulties Anne faced with her marriage are also done very well and the number of quotes from observers who directly knew Helen and Anne only increases as one progresses through the book.

The last half of the book deals with Helen's later life when she turned from a writing celebrity and political activist (there is one scathing criticism of Theodore Roosevelt on page 417 that ought to be noted by his modern critics like Thomas Woods), and to campaigning for the blind, which was her most important occupation for the last half of her life. The very last part, "Helen without Teacher" is somewhat less interesting though still very dense and dramatic.

In addition to the text and copious quotes, "Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy" contains beautiful pictures that are an attraction of themselves. Though the images of Helen and Anne are at times repetitive, the surroundings more than make up for this problem even with all images being black and white.

As a biography of one of the most remarkable - and famous - American women, "Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy" is a must-read that will surprise the reader even after having several good looks. It may not be easy to read in one or even a few settings, but nonetheless any small reading will reveal a greta deal of interest.

This book has just about every bit of information about Annie and Helen anyone could wish for! My only complaint is that there is SO much information, sometimes it was easy for me to miss what I was looking for. It took me a long time to find out, for example, how Helen learned to speak English, and what exactly happened with Mr. Anagnos, and with John Macy, and who Swedenborg was, etc. I was delighted to find out that one of Helen's favorite books was Anne of Green Gables! It's tidbits like this that make the book delightful as a whole. I think both of these women led truly fascinating lives and accomplished amazing things!

Informative! It does get a bit long & wordy at times, but it's a fair representation of Helen & Annie's lives. The more I read about Annie Sullivan, the more I like her. I think it was a real shame that Arthur & Kate Keller felt threatened by the close bond Annie had with Helen. I think Arthur & Kate just wanted Helen to be "trained," but not really the free independent spirit she was meant to be. I'm so glad Annie stood by her & helped her become a free person & became a lifelong friend to Helen as well. Annie was very open about whatever failings she'd had & was a warm, loving supportive guide in Helen's life. I get the feeling Helen & Annie had almost a mother-daugher-like bond, which of course practically killed Arthur & Kate. The stupid thing was, the Keller parents wanted to just shift over the responibility to Annie of educating her & getting her to fit into society, yet wanted total control over Helen's life. If anyone was manipulative & controlling, it was Arthur & Kate. Esp. Arthur, I think was really patronizing & downright domineering toward Annie. Kate didn't help matters either & when I read about her attempts to break Helen & Pete up later on & her consent to try to split Helen & Annie up, I really lost respect for Kate. I know I'm slamming Kate & Arthur here, but I see Annie as more of a loving parent figure in Helen's life. I really commend Annie for standing strong against Helen's domineering, manipulative parents. Oh, boy, was that John Macy a real creep! I was sooo glad Annie got away from him; he accused Annie of being "manipulative & controlling" when he was controlling himself! He KNEW Annie & Helen had a tight bond, yet after he married Annie, he started giving poor Annie a hard time about it! What was really contemptable was that John wrote to Kate & others badmouthing Annie behind her back & it's good that the book exposed that clearly. That made me lose respect for John too; sorry, but I have no sympathy for John Macy. I think Annie tried really hard to be a good wife, yet John just criticized her for being too close to Helen. Poor Annie, it was sad reading about her heartbreak. It was touching & kind of reassuring to read that it was Helen who came to Annie's support when Annie couldn't stop crying for several days over John. It was Helen who fired a letter off to John blasting him for badmouthing Annie. I cheered when Helen was the one who helped Annie get back on her feet, esp. since I hear that John cleaned out the Macys' joint account & closed it without Annie's consent & Annie had to struggle to get her career going again. Boy, was it inspiring to read about Annie's heart healing & her getting her writing going again as well as back on her feet financially! I love how Helen & Annie stood by each other all the way & once Polly joined them, stood by them too. Annie's shaky pride suffered a lot of blows in her life, but always she managed to get back on her feet. I always knew Helen was forever grateful to Annie for freeing her from her early wordless prison & helping her get started to an independent free life & Helen showed this gratitude by being the one to take care of Annie when Annie grew old & frail & went permanently blind. It was a touching mother-daugher bond almost...when Helen was young, Annie looked out for her, then the roles reversed; when Annie got older & weaker, Helen was the one to look out for her & it was great that Helen was able to be by her bedside when her mentor & friend died. What was wonderful also was that Annie was a really sweet, accepting person; she had so many problems in her life, yet never sank into self-pity; she even made wry jokes about her blindness & even wrote a self-effacing column "Foolish Remarks From a Foolish Woman." That part cracked me up! Annie was a quick-tempered little thing, but was quick to forgive & had a big heart & I'm glad this book acknowledged that. Even Helen said that Annie was generous "to a fault." But the last best gift Annie gave Helen was the capacity to be completely independent, even from her, so once Annie died, with only a little help from Polly, Helen was able to live a free life, even long after Annie was gone. I say kudos to both Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan!!!!

If you read one book about them, make it this one.

I have read all the other books I could find, but several controversies and key events were glossed over and were never fully explained. This book fills in all the gaps, and although this means Helen and Annie come under closer scrutiny, and are sometimes shown to be at fault, they come through as real people, more human, and more remarkable than ever. What an awesome partnership!

"While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done."...Helen Keller

This is Annie Sullivan's and Helen Keller's superb memorial, all 800 pages of it, as author Lash cuts through the treacle, the myth, the sensationalism of their famous relationship and presents the players on this stage as the human beings they are. Annie was rather like a scrappy terrier, Helen as gentle as a golden retriever, but together they were a team that achieved wondrous things. As the author remarks, "[Annie] approached the world with a chip on her shoulder...the other reached out to the world with a heart full of love..." This biography is huge but I'm just going to discuss a few of the highlights in this tremendous undertaking.

Another reviewer quite aptly refers to Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller as having a symbiotic relationship. I think that observation is very sound, but it is also more than that, much more than that, it was a great love between two people. Annie Sullivan may have freed Helen from a prison of darkness and eerie silence, but in many ways, Helen saved the bitter and emotion wrought Teacher and liberated her from memories of a ghastly childhood spent in a poor house, an experience that reads like something right out of Dickens. Annie through Helen was no longer chained to those memories, salvaging Helen became her life's work and she found both love and companionship in her long stewardship of the woman who became a worldwide icon. Helen had a brilliant mind when it was finally released from the shackles of deafness and blindness but so did the vision- impaired Annie who graduated from the Perkins Institute as valedictorian. Annie delivered a valedictorian address that is astoundingly mature for a girl of twenty.

Perhaps the biggest miracle in the Annie -Helen relationship is that they were brought together in the first place. Their union seems almost providential. Annie came to Helen when she was twenty one years old, half-blind herself. Her first task was to subdue the out of control little girl and teach her to obey. Helen had been spoiled by her parents and was not corrected when she grabbed handfuls of food from peoples' plates and screamed and kicked and created mayhem at the dinner table when she was thwarted in any way.

Helen understood that everything had a name during the famous eureka scene at the water pump, and Annie said, after Helen for the first time kissed her and hugged her, "I thought my heart would burst it was so full of joy." Helen morphed into an entirely different child because her active brain found room to fly. How high Helen flew is almost more than a miracle, it is a devastating achievement that provokes wonder. As a child she could read Braille with one hand and simultaneously transfer the words with her other hand into Annie's palm. At twelve years old she was a celebrity but Annie was the king maker.

Author Lash goes into great detail about the famous episode of "The Frost King." Annie allowed Helen to publish that story but it was obviously a plagiarism and Annie must have known that. Helen should not have been faulted as the plagiarized story had been read to her years before and she simply filed the images away in her mind and resurrected them later thinking the images were her own. There was a huge flap and Annie's credibility was doubted for the rest of her life. Helen's reputation was hurt by the allegations, too. It is odd that a woman as astute as Annie could make a mistake that serious, but perhaps her ambition for Helen clouded her judgment.

Annie tried through her mission of salvaging the mind of Helen to shake herself free of her background and the hurtful memories but she was always touchy and quick to take offense. Because of her belligerence she made enemies and she somewhat heartlessly spurred Helen on as she demanded the best performance possible. Annie accompanied Helen through Radcliffe, sitting next to her at lectures, transcribing the lectures into Helen's hand. Helen read a great many books in Braille as well covering a very wide curriculum that would stagger most of today's college students. She received her degree cum laude.

Helen did not have to attach herself to anyone's coattails, but people, many of them, attached themselves to hers. John Macy, Annie's husband, made use of the money Helen and Teacher earned in the vaudeville circuit where they performed right beside the acrobats, trained seals midgets and horses. Helen's father was heavily in debt and could not support his daughter so the women had to work. Macy was also a heavy drinker and was resentful for the ménage a trois of himself, Annie and Helen. He surely knew that Annie would never leave Helen and he was spiteful behind Annie's back. There are many other examples in the book of individuals jealous of Annie and Helen even had her jailers- her own mother had tried to separate Helen and Annie as she felt her role as mother was being usurped. She prevented Helen from marrying Peter Fagan, a young journalist with whom Helen was in love. Helen's brother-in-law on the instigation of Mrs. Keller ran poor Peter off the premises with a shot gun.

Annie and Helen traveled the world and Helen was a household name wherever they went and they were frequently mobbed. Eventually Polly Thomson, a level headed, kindly and non-flappable Scottish lady, joined Helen and Annie which allowed Annie some time off. Annie's health deteriorated badly as she aged and one of her eyes had to be removed. Typically, Helen agonized over Annie's eye troubles when she rarely thought about her own blindness. Helen never acquired the deep love for Polly that she felt for Teacher but Polly served her faithfully for twenty years. However, like so many people in Helen's life, Polly was very jealous of anyone but herself helping Helen.

Annie and Helen were both very strong women who knew what they wanted and frequently got it. Their story, their mutual triumph will endure. Author Lash died in 1987, but his book will endure, too, the definitive story of Annie Sullivan Macy and Helen Keller.