The Story of My Life [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition]

by Helen Keller (Author), Alyssa Bresnahan (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audible Audio Edition
• Listening Length: 4 hours and 18 minutes
• Program Type: Audiobook
• Version: Unabridged
• Publisher: Recorded Books
• Audible.com Release Date: December 16, 1999
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00005478S
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)

Editorial Reviews

As a 2-year-old, Helen Keller was stricken with a mysterious illness which left her blind and deaf. It wasn't until she was 6, and a teacher, Miss Sullivan, entered her life, that she was able to communicate with her family. In her unforgettable autobiography, Helen shares her struggle with, and ultimate triumph over, her disability. When it was first published in 1902, her story gained the attention of some of the most famous people of her day and it was later popularized by the stage play and movie The Miracle Worker.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary woman; an inspiring story, October 28, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Story of My Life (Bantam Classic) (Mass Market Paperback)

Helen Keller (1880-1968) is a revered figure in American popular culture. Struck deaf and blind by illness at the age of 19 months, she still managed to get an education and become a writer and activist. Her story was further popularized by William Gibson's play "The Miracle Worker," which was also adapted for both film and television.

Keller's autobiography, "The Story of My Life," first appeared in installments in "Ladies' Home Journal" in 1902. This book is truly one of the great American autobiographies: an inspiring story of a courageous individual who overcame tremendous odds.

Keller writes about many things: her childhood in Alabama; her relationship with her beloved teacher, Anne Sullivan; her attendance at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City; and meeting such eminent figures as Mark Twain. She especially stresses her love of literature, which she describes as "my Utopia."

Along the way are some fascinating details and profoundly moving passages. Her tribute to the Homer, the blind poet of ancient Greece, is particularly powerful. I also loved her interpretation of the biblical Book of Ruth: a story of "love which can rise above conflicting creeds and deep-seated racial prejudices."

I think that many will regard Keller's autobiography as a mere historical or sociological document. But I think the book deserves a place as a great work of literature, and moreover as a work of literature in the great American tradition. Keller's poetic, often sensuous words about the natural world are comparable to the work of Emily Dickinson. And her stirring account of her revelatory awareness of language reminds me of Frederick Douglass' account of his first awareness of the power of literacy. The book as a whole is enhanced by Keller's charming, likeable literary style.

"The Story of My Life" is a wonderful book by an amazing individual. Helen Keller still has, I believe, much to say to contemporary audiences.

57 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I had the destinct pleasure of meeting Ms. Keller personally, May 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Helen Keller: The Story of My Life (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

I was about 8 years old, my grandmother had a "bed and breakfast" type of house in Garmisch, Germany, I was on my way home from school and had picked some flowers for her "B & B" tables, when I saw a lady with awhite cane, I gave her the flowers which I had picked for my grandma, The lady to whom I gave the flowers was Ms. Keller, the lady accompanying her was Ms. Sullivan. The next day, my teacher at school asked me to her office. Thinking that I was in trouble (again) I was worried about what was going on. She asked me where I had met Helen Keller; To which I replied "Helen who??" , She then explained to me who Helen Keller was. My grandmother and I then were invited to one of the finer hotels in Garmisch to have dinner with Ms Keller and Ms Sullivan. At which time she presented me with a hardcover of her book "The story of my life". What I belive makes this book special is the fact that Ms Keller wrote a note to me In GERMAN, she wrote: "An meiner kleine freund der meine hand froh machte mit 'Primrosen', eine botschft from fruehling mit liebe Helen Keller" In rough translation: "To my little friend, who made my hand happy with a message of spring with love Hellen Keller". This book is most certainly one of my most price posessions.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Woman!, August 2, 2003

By 

Nelson Aspen "Author/Journalist" (Los Angeles & NYC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Story of My Life (Bantam Classic) (Mass Market Paperback)

The miraculous Helen Keller and her equally astounding teacher, Annie Sullivan, go into great detail of their struggles to overcome Helen's grave disabilities. It is so astounding, in fact, that it's almost incomprehensible. Helen's amazing mental ability, Annie's guidance and their mutual tenacity are surely to be credited.

It is a wonderful story to read, especially so because it is told BY them and not as interpreted by a third-party biographer.

Unfortunately, Helen's eloquence and the prose of the day can border on the flowery side (to be it mildly) which made me unable to push through as quickly as I might have otherwise.

But then again, that's the beauty of her success story: it WASN'T too good to be true!