Optimism (1903) by Hellen Keller
Helen Adams Keller was an American writer and social activist; an illness (possibly scarlet fever or meningitis) at the age of 19 months left her deaf and blind. No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right. It is curious to observe what different ideals of happiness people cherish, and in what singular places they look for this well-spring of their life. Many look for it in the hoarding of riches, some in the pride of power, and others in the achievements of art and literature; a few seek it in the exploration of their own minds, or in search for knowledge. Most people measure their happiness in terms of physical pleasure and material possession. Could they win some visible goal which they have set on the horizon, how happy they could be Lacking this gift or that circumstance, they would be miserable. If happiness is to be so measured, I who cannot hear or see have every reason to sit in a corner with folded hands and weep. If I am happy in spite of my deprivations, if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith, so thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life, - if, in short, I am an optimist, my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing. Helen Keller was left blind and deaf by a terrible disease at the age of 19 months, trapped in a shell of incomprehensibility. With the help of Annie Sullivan, she was able to overcome these handicaps and educate herself. Shortly after her autobiography, My Story, appeared in 1900, this book on Optimism was also published.
Keller, Helen Adams: - Helen Adams Keller was born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, the elder daughter of Arthur Henley Keller and Kate Adams Keller. When but a toddler at 19 months of age, she fell ill with what could have been scarlet fever or meningitis and shortly after, lost her sight and hearing. The impact this had on a child barely two years old is difficult to imagine as communication was all but lost to her. At seven years of age, with the help of Anne Sullivan, the teacher from the Perkins Institute for the Blind who was to transform her life, Helen learnt to communicate with those around her. Anne Sullivan, herself visually impaired, opened up the world to Helen, first by fingerspelling words into her hand, then by teaching her to lip read by placing one hand lightly over the speaker's lips. Helen went on to learn to speak, to read braille and to interpret sign language with her hands - and even discovered she could enjoy music by feeling the rhythmic vibrations of the beat. From her early isolating years of silence and darkness, Helen Keller emerged as a world-famous speaker and author of twelve published books and several articles. She was the first deaf-blind person to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree and was subsequently awarded many honorary degrees. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson conferred on her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the USA's highest civilian honours. A stalwart campaigner for women's suffrage, birth control, socialism, labour rights and pacifism, she also promoted and helped establish institutions for the deaf and blind. The first (silent) film made about her in 1919 was called Deliverance and this was followed by many other movies and television serials. Keller was well travelled, both within the USA and around the world, meeting US presidents, other national leaders, famous actors and writers and people involved in the work she championed. The inventor and scientist, Alexander Graham Bell, whose work in acoustics and elocution underpinned his endeavours with the deaf, was a lifelong friend and co-advocate. The Story of My Life is dedicated to him. Helen Keller's autobiography chronicles her life from a child to a young woman of twenty-two years.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781594622083 |
| ISBN 10 | 1594622086 |
| Title | Optimism (1903) |
| Author | Hellen Keller |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Book Jungle |
| Year published | 2006-07-13 |
| Number of pages | 84 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |