Beyond the Miracle Worker: The Remarkable Life of Anne Sullivan Macy and Her Extraordinary Friendship with Helen Keller

by Kim E. Nielsen

After many years, historian and Helen Keller expert Kim Nielsen realized that she, along with other historians and biographers, had failed Anne Sullivan Macy. While Macy is remembered primarily as Helen Keller's teacher and mythologized as a straightforward educational superhero, the real story of this brilliant, complex, and misunderstood woman, who described herself as a "badly constructed human being," has never been completely told. Beyond the Miracle Worker, the first biography of Macy in nearly fifty years, complicates the typical Helen-Annie "feel good" narrative in surprising ways. By telling the life from Macy's perspective-not Keller's-the biography is the first to put Macy squarely at the center of the story. It presents a new and fascinating tale about a wounded but determined woman and her quest for a successful, meaningful life. Born in 1866 to poverty-stricken Irish immigrants, the parentless and deserted Macy suffered part of her childhood in the Massachusetts State Almshouse at Tewksbury. Seeking escape, in love with literature, and profoundly stubborn, she successfully fought to gain an education at the Perkins School for the Blind. As an adult, Macy taught Keller, helping the girl realize her immense potential, and Macy's intimate friendship with Keller remained powerful throughout their lives. Yet as Macy floundered with her own blindness, ill health, and depression, as well as a tumultuous and triangulated marriage, she came to lean on her former student, emotionally, physically, and economically. Based on privately held primary source material, including materials at both the American Foundation for the Blind and the Perkins School for the Blind, Beyond the Miracle Worker is revelatory and absorbing, unraveling one of the best known-and least understood-friendships of the twentieth century.From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Disability, Biography Memoir, Memoir, Book Club

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Ever since I was a kid exploring my community's old Carnegie library, I had loved biography! Now I'm professor of history and women’s studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Studying history means I get to read biography and consider it work. My most recent book is Beyond the Miracle Worker: The Remarkable Life of Anne Sullivan Macy and Her Extraordinary Friendship with Helen Keller (Beacon Press, 2009).

Author appearances:
- October 2009, Wisconsin Literary Festival

- May 28, 7 pm, Readers Loft Bookstore, Green Bay, Wisconsin

- June 6, 12:30 pm, Printers Row Literary Festival, University Center Loop Room, 525 S. State St., 3rd floor, Chicago, Illinois

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe it seems counter-intuitive to write a solo biography of Anne Sullivan Macy -- who would have heard of her if not for Helen Keller, right? Even for someone who's as nutzoid for Annie as I am, it's odd at first to read a biography in which Helen Keller gets so obviously sidelined. However, much as I value Joseph Lash's dual biography, Helen and Teacher, and as much as the two women's lives were intertwined, reading Nielsen's solo examination of Annie reveals just how much of a distraction keeping up with Helen Keller creates for those of us interested the intricacies of Annie Sullivan.

Without the focus constantly swinging toward the details of Helen's existence, vital elements like Annie's disabilities and mercurial personality virtually become characters in their own right. In fact, Nielsen shows that Annie's wavering eyesight, chronic pain, recurring illnesses, and lifelong bouts of melancholy were more debilitating than Helen's blindness and deafness -- though no one who spent 40-odd years standing next to a deaf-blind icon would dare draw attention to that fact. Not even saucy Annie Sullivan.

While many biographers tend to frame the hardships in Annie's early life as a rags-to-riches buildup to her successes as Helen Keller's famous teacher, Nielsen details the lingering effects of Annie's childhood traumas on her adult relationships and behavior. The truth of the matter is that Annie Sullivan was damaged goods, and even the salve of Helen's decades-long friendship never fully closed those wounds. No matter how much Helen loved and venerated her, Anne Sullivan Macy was not an easy woman to live with. Fortunately for the rest of us, all the extremes that made her such a trial and a delight make for a fascinating read under Nielsen's steady gaze.

***************
Addendum:
Contrary to Publisher's Weekly's review, NONE of Nielsen's writing in this biography can be characterized as "lightly fictionalized." Nielsen used Anne Sullivan Macy's own lightly fictionalized autobiographical writings as a source for her work, but clearly indicates between documented facts and the autobiographical stories of 'Johannah [Annie:] and Jimmie Dunnivan' culled from Macy's unpublished memoirs.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book because Anne Sullivan Macy is a remarkable woman although I am not a huge fan of the author. Statements like this are not uncommon, "Just as some gays and lesbians have passed as straight, she would pass as sighted--as the nondisabled companion and aide of Helen Keller." This was a little too opinionated for me in a book that is biographical. Just state the facts. I didn't know much about either woman so I feel like I learned a little bit. My biggest complaint is that I didn't like the author's opinion seeping in. I want to go and read a book on just Helen Keller now.

[Lona Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is history that we tell children, and there is history that should be reserved for when we are older. I think there is nothing wrong with doing some historical myth-making; inspirational stories of virtue and fortitude are important in developing those values in our children. But when you are ready to move beyond the story of Helen, Ann and that afternoon at the water pump, the story of Anne Sullivan is worth knowing.
Her own childhood was absolutely harrowing. She was the daughter of poverty-stricken Irish immigrants. She experienced desertion and betrayal from her own family, and she endured several years in the Tewkesbury almshouse. At age 14, she couldn't even write her own name. By the time she went to Alabama to become Helen Keller's teacher at age 20, she was, as her letters show, an excellent writer.
I was very moved by the fact that Ann Sullivan, without any formal training as a teacher, developed her own way of teaching Helen Keller which was much better than the method promoted by the "experts." She had no professional or academic credentials so she was both insecure about her status and resentful of the way she was treated, particularly by the director of the Perkins Institute for the Blind. While her combative style is quite understandable, it often did not serve her well.
The first part of this story is the most compelling part, especially the section about life in the almshouse. Kim E. Nielsen has done a lot of research but the last half of Sullivan's life is difficult to chronicle. Sullivan was a very private person and most of her letters have been lost. So though that is a problem with this book, that's more because of the subject matter, rather than the author. We're left to speculate about her motives in choosing to spend her life beside Helen Keller's side, rather than build on her fame as an educator or an author. Sullivan's marriage is also mystery--why she married in the first place, why it fell apart, and why she could neither reconcile or divorce with her husband.
As Nielsen explains, Anne's relationship with Helen Keller changed over the years from teacher/student, and in the latter part of her life, Sullivan was quite dependent on Keller. Nielsen keeps the focus of the book on Sullivan, but Helen Keller's patience, compassion and intelligence certainly comes through. Nielson also provides interesting details about the Keller family's relationship with Anne.
The most moving parts for me were the chronicles of Irish-American life in the late 19th century. I would have liked to have known even more about Sullivan's family, the death of her father, and how and when the rest of the family overcame poverty and prejudice (at least, I certainly hope they did!)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography is a much-needed examination of the complex Annie Sullivan Macy, whom Nielson asserts, correctly, deserves more from us than the usual caricature of the Super Educator who miraculously taught Helen Keller language. In many of the books I've read on Keller, the figure of Sullivan is one-dimensional, her life a mere derivative of Keller's. I really enjoyed this examination of a complex, imperfect woman who lived an extraordinary life. I especially appreciated some of the material on her marriage--I'd seen so very little about this.
Caveats--there is a lot of speculation here, as the often-scanty record necessitates, especially about Sullivan's early life. I think Nielson does a pretty good job, however, handling the questions arising from the lack of material.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to separate Anne Sullivan from Helen Keller, but author Kim Nielsen does certainly try.

Keller is kept on the periphery as much as possible in this biography, which pushes Annie's pedagogical accomplishments and tries to delve into her psychology. That Sullivan was argumentative and headstrong was probably what kept her alive and sane during her childhood years in the almhouse, and what pushed her to push young Helen Keller into communication. It also made her a difficult woman in many ways, and the book may rationalize, but doesn't apologize for her.

[Deborah L. Weibley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay book. I think that it repeated a lot of the same information throughout the book, which, for me, made it a little boring. It took me forever to read.

[Nobo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this engaging and well-written book, Nielsen puts together the truly remarkable story of Anne Sullivan, despite the difficulty in finding certain key materials. It was a timely reading for me as the 2017 Women's March was taking place in support of the lives of women and disadvantaged people. With all the limited resources she had, Anne Sullivan fiercely fought against powerful narcissists of her days and left a great legacy. Even today, though, we are shocked by the horrible reality in front of us. Unfortunately, we still need to continue the path she was on back then.

Some readers may be overwhelmed by exceedingly unfortunate experiences Anne Sullivan had to go through. For those who had similarly-cruel experiences, certain descriptions may trigger their own trauma (I hope that such readers may eventually be able to resolve their own issues). However, I still think that this is a story of unmistakably-positive accomplishments. And I think that the author delivered this point successfully.

The main aspects of the story that struck me the most are: Anne Sullivan's resilience, pedagogical creativity, and the mutual friendship between Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller. I think that the book covers these areas very well.

First, the book documents Anne Sullivan's life as an unfortunate demonstration of the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). Thanks to the recent, large-scale ACE studies, we now know more about the negative physical and mental impacts of childhood trauma (including household dysfunctions, abuse, and neglect). While the damage is often irreversible (as shown in this book), the movement called Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) squarely faces this issue and tries to improve the conditions of the affected people. There are a lot of research and newly-developed approaches in support of the movement (e.g., The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog, In an Unspoken Voice, The Body Keeps the Score, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts).

Second, the book presents Anne Sullivan's innovative educational approach developed through the interaction with Helen Keller. After establishing the basic trust with Helen, Anne tried to provide a natural context of learning a language as "normal" children would do. Instead of the then gold standard of Howe (to teach words in isolation), she finger-spelled a stream of complete sentences as if Helen is listening to other people's natural speech. The effectiveness of Anne's approach was clearly demonstrated by Helen's accomplishments. This kind of pragmatic approach can be seen in most of modern, progressive educational approaches (e.g., Instead of Education).

Unfortunately, the educational establishment of those days did not accept or appreciate Anne's approach. This must partly due to Anne's lack of credentials and her status as a woman with an impoverished upbringing, as well as her defiant style.

Actually, even today, the conventional education is more or less stuck in the obsolete, knowledge-transfer model. We need to re-examine why the conventional education is still failing and can learn from Anne's ideas.

But the main underlying theme is the love between Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller. It is obvious that toward the end of Anne's life, Helen wanted to spend her time for her own advancement. However, Helen stayed with and cared for Anne. This may have been partly due to Helen's felt obligation to Anne's complete support for Helen (earlier in their lives). But I am inclined to think that the both women supported each other mainly out of their own intrinsic motivations. That is, both of them must have been helping each other because the act of doing so itself must have been rewarding. That is nothing other than mutual love. We are in the age of extrinsic motivations: i.e., threatening with punishments of all sorts, abusing tangible rewards such as money and status (e.g., Punished By Rewards), and relying on unhealthy competitions (e.g., No Contest). Such extrinsic motivations will never be able to explain this valuable story of true love in this book.

[Yun Yi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this book 5 star rate if the writing style is more "readers friendly" (at least to me). I still enjoyed this book tremendously mostly because of the unbelievably interesting life experience of Sullivan. For me, she was equally fascinating as Helen Keller. This book confirms a fact to me, that reality is more fascinating than fiction. The pair of heroines truly is unparalleled phenomenon of history.

Anne Sullivan, who later became Anne Sullivan Macy, had a life that was extreme undulate. Born in an Irish immigrant family, Sullivan's childhood was spent in the darkness of poverty, death, ignorance and violence. She lost her mother when she was only eight, and when she was ten, she was abandoned by her father and was sent to almshouse together with her brother by her relatives. After 4 years living in almshouse, during which her brother died, Annie somehow got a chance to go to Perkins Institute. Her life turned! In Perkins, she appeared to be an extremely intelligent but also belligerent student. Six years later, she graduated as a valedictorian. Soon after she graduated, when she seemed to face an unknown future, she got a job to be governess of Keller's family. Hence the legend started.

Sullivan came from the bottom of society, strove to a place "beyond her dream", yet to a cultural circle that did not suit her past. She seemed to have extremely ambivalent emotion toward her past - she tried so hard to forget, but the ghost of darkness in the past never left her alone, it tangled all her life through every bit of depression and perplexed her profound view about the value of her own existence. Her relationship with Helen was also extreme multifaceted. She started from Helen's teacher, assistant, a role that Helen depended on by all means, gradually transformed into a person who had to depended on Helen. She refused several chances to work for others, and relied on Helen's fame to make continuing success, though it was herself initially turned on Helen's intelligence. Sullivan also had eye disease since her childhood, carried this disease all the way to the end of her live, when she became completely blind. The constant pain of her eyes, tortured her since beginning, also tormented her mental state. When her eye condition worsened, she became more irritated, capricious and depressed, and relied on totally on Helen, who seemed to forever embraced her as her own savior.

Sullivan's achievement was underrated by society and she had always been furious about it. She hated to be thought as a teacher who enlightened Helen simply by adopting the teaching technique that was "invented" by the founder of Perkins, but she was always viewed by public as so. The fact was that she was very creative when she started to teach Helen. However, in her late years, when she was recognized for her individual achievement as a renovated educator, she rejected some honors that were bestowed on her. She was too sick, too weak, too confused and depressed for herself, that she simply did not care what society did to her anymore.

"Beyond Miracle Worker" is an excellent biography with some tediously chronicled details, but these boring details was tolerable to me, simple because of the extremely interesting characters. The book focuses on Sullivan's complicated psychological state, creates an impression about her that cannot be summarized in a few words. I highly recommend for those who are fascinated to this extraordinary historical figure.

[Carmen Redding · Rating 4 out of 5]

New insights on the elusive Annie Sullivan Macy

I read The Story of My Life by Helen Keller when I was a teenager. I was enthralled and captivated by Helen’s awakening to the world around her. I always wanted to know more about the woman who persevered until she accomplished what the world would call “a miracle.”

This was not an easy read. It didn’t read like a novel or answer all the questions I had about Annie. She was a celebrity in her time, Being in the public eye, like Jackie Kennedy or Princess Diana, she protected her privacy to the point that there are gaps in her story which will never be revealed.

I said it was a difficult read because the author had to painstakingly put together all the minute revelations of her life through letters and other accounts of her life to bring us the complete picture of who Annie Sullivan Macy was. Sometimes it felt like I was reading a book report.

It was also difficult because in spite o Annie’s accomplishments, her life seemed always veiled with sadness, brought about by the circumstances of her past and the contradictions of her character. She was sometimes her worst enemy. Unlike Helen Keller, Macy was not a believer. This world was it. Therefore, when things went wrong with her health and her marriage, the future always looked hopeless and bleak.

I’m not sorry I read the book. It did give me a better understanding of Annie as well as Helen and the constraints and also the advantages of the society they lived in.

[Karenclifford61 · Rating 4 out of 5]

My admiration for Helen Keller was always in reference to her disability/genius, and thought without Helen Keller, Anne was her translator/friend. I now realize how backward I had it all! Without Anne Sullivan, who knows if Helen would have achieved her greatness or become a novelty act. From this book I realized the pain, struggles, fears... that Anne suffered personally, while finding ways to ensure Helen achieve her full potential. Their mutual dependency on each other was incredible and likely exceedes any other relationship on earth. If I read it again, I'll pay closer attention to the names/relationships of the other parties mentioned earlier in the book.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew practically nothing about Annie Sullivan Macy before I read this book, and I found it very informative and interesting. She was a complex person with a complex life-story. The first third of the book was a fantastic page-turner. After that is slowed down significantly became a little academic. Overall it is an amazing story of tenacity, friendship, and deep wounds. I feel like the author did a good job with what she had, but there were a bunch of unanswered questions because the material wasn't there, and I also just wish that the story could have been a little happier.

[Meg Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extraordinary look at the woman behind Helen Keller. I must admit, I'd never though much about Annie Sullivan and what her life must have been like, and so this book was truly a revelation. The author does a great job painting a sympathetic portrait of an incredibly complex woman, drawing from letters and historical records. When the information doesn't exist, Nielsen gives her own opinions in a way that doesn't seem pendantic. Much enjoyed.

[Josephine Ensign · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fascinating story about the life and work of Anne Sullivan Macy, but I found the author's writing style clunky and off-putting. To me it is almost a good lesson in how not to write a biography.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Miracle Worker' is one of my favorite films with extraordinary performances by Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke as Anne Sullivan and a young Helen Keller. This book fills in what their relationship was like in the years that passed after the end of the movie.

Although the author wants to concentrate on Sullivan, it is truly the story of both women. You cannot separate them, by their choice. They are almost Siamese twins without the physical joining. We learn about Annie's horrendous childhood, her many operations on her eyes, and her decision to become the lifelong 'Teacher' of a little blind deaf-mute girl from Alabama, a decision which would make her world famous and yet demand unimaginable sacrifices.

Ironically, after the 'miracle' that opened the door to learning for Helen, life became harder for the Keller family. Finances were in disarray, but Annie made sure that Helen had her chance at a real life with financial contributions and schooling at schools for the blind and deaf. Of course, this sometimes led to confrontations with those who wanted to exploit Helen for their own benefit. Sullivan was forced to fight for her position as 'Teacher' which she did willingly. She had found her mission in life, and would not give it up despite her continuing eyesight problems and even in the face of tuberculosis.

As the years went by, Helen graduated from Radcliffe, while Annie married a man more than decade younger, but the three of them moved in together so their lives didn't change much since John Macy was Helen's editor. The marriage was not a success since Annie's first loyalty would always be to Helen. The stress of her crumbling marriage, her nearly constant physical ailments and worries about money forced a change in her relationship with Helen. Helen earned the money that kept them going. She almost became the 'Teacher'.

Annie Sullivan led an extraordinary life, but she didn't seem to be able to find peace for herself. Perhaps the memories of childhood and her feelings of inferiority because of her lack of education were just too much for her to overcome. It must have have been difficult to live her life through that of another no matter how much you loved them.

[isaacq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very frustrating and fascinating book.

Kim Nielsen had a difficult assignment in writing this biography of Annie Sullivan, despite her previous extensive research and experience with the Helen Keller story.

Through most of her adult life, Annie Sullivan was the subject (or at least the co-subject) of many published articles, books, even a Hollywood silent film. One gets the impression from reading this biography that Annie was extremely conscious, if not fixated, on the narrative she would leave behind. She burned several of her diaries, she wrote contradictory versions of events in other sources, and she ensured that letters she considered too revealing were "unavailable" to her contemporary authorized biographer — hence long gone by the time Nielsen got around to writing about her.

As a result, Nielsen is forced to speculate more than most biographers. The writings Sullivan did leave behind were not very flattering, so one has to wonder how damning the destroyed stuff was. Fortunately, there aren't endless pages of this sort of speculation, but to her credit Nielsen doesn't pretend the questions don't exist either.

Annie Sullivan was the textbook definition of a tortured soul. Very atheistic and very jealous of her friend Helen's ability to believe, the misery of her loneliness and poor health tormented Annie seemingly every day of her life. It makes for a bit of an exhausting read, and often I found myself wishing someone from 2024 would show up, grab Sullivan lovingly by the shoulders and walk her to a therapist. But mental health as we know it today is not a thing they spoke of during her lifetime. She suffered tremendously and, from our modern perspective, seemed unable to do anything about it.

That makes this a rather heavy book, without any of the feel-good aspect you might expect from a book about someone literally known as the Miracle Worker. Know this going in, and I think you'll enjoy the compelling downer of a character study here.

[Suresh Nair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aptly titled "Beyond the Miracle Worker", this book gives a detailed life history of Anne Sullivan Macy or the "Teacher" and tries to unravel the story beyond the miracle. 

From childhood Anne lived a hard life, full of loss, neglect and disability but her strong will and perseverance is worth a lot of admiration. The only miracle or fate in her life was perhaps her becoming Helen's teacher, which itself was only a matter of circumstances. What happened later was a lot of hard work and determination on her part to make and mould Hellen Keller into what she became. 

The book details out Anne's early life with family and her life at an almshouse and Perkins college, before acquaintance with Helen. It then details out her time with Helen, the difficult beginning and progress with Helen's understanding of language and othe basics, the major role Anne plays in important decisions about Helen's education, conflicts and struggles with other's who tried to help/ control Helen's affairs and the strong bond between the teacher & student over the decades. It also tells about her marriage and her lifelong struggle with her own disability.

Sometimes the book feels too detailed but for a biography, especially about a person who probably did not/ does not get enough recognition for what she deserved, it is well worth a read. It is sad that Anne doubted her own achievements and contribution in giving hope and optimism to the millions of disabled people and stayed mostly out of limelight during her lifetime. After years of hearing and knowing about Helen Keller I feel that by reading this book I am finally giving due credit and doing justice to her "Teacher".

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most books about Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan focus on Helen and the miracle of her learning to communicate. This book is completely focused on Anne Sullivan Macy, from her early life in an impoverished Irish family, discarded, along with her younger brother, Jimmie, by her father after the death of her mother from TB. How she managed to pull herself together, surviving Jimmie's death, becoming a strong and yet dependent woman, are just the beginning of this story. During her life, she and Helen slowly changed places, as Helen became the strong one, and Annie became the disabled woman who needed Helen's guiding hand. Despite her breakthrough in education of the deaf and blind child, and all it brought her in early accolades, Anne Sullivan never felt deserving of the honors that came her way, and yet felt she never received enough credit for what she did. (And in the latter, she was correct.)

A very engrossing read, at times heavy in its reliance on speculation, but otherwise well documented, the story of Teacher's life takes us from just after the Civil War to a time when women were speaking their minds. Through it all, Anne Sullivan, an early feminist, never backed down to man or woman, and demanded her due or found a way to finagle it. The author's shining a light on her, and at the same time, showing us a very human light on Helen Keller and others in their world, makes the story whole.

[spruitjes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have seen the movie "The miracle worker" a few times and I always cry when Helen finally understands that the letters that are formed in her hands, mean something.

So when I saw the title of this book in my Bookbub mail, I knew I wanted to know more about the teacher who opened up a new world for Helen.
And I realised I knew almost absolutely nothing about her, than what they show in the movie.

I got off to a slow start, but when I came to the chapter where Annie Sullivan starts working with Helen, I got "captured" by her story.
In the end I am glad I read it all.

She was quite a complex person who taught Helen well, but sadly got the recognition for her work as a teacher way too late - in my opinion.
That's why I give this book 4 stars: not only because it is well written and tells the beautiful story of how Annie first was Helen's teacher, but later her "mentor" and best friend.

[Shirley Leavitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book about Annie Sullivan and her life spent with Helen Keller. They were more than teacher-student, their life together spanned over fifty years. The play and movie, The Miracler Worker, only took in the few years when Helen was just a very young child. A wonderful play and movie, saw the movie many times, but this book covers their whole lives together in depth. You find out that Annie Sullivan's early life was very difficult and so sad, and even her eye sight was very poor do to an on going eye infection, which could have been cured by an Anitbiotic. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to learn more how this young women with not much schooling was able to teach Helen, a blind and deaf child how to lean so much, a wonderful tribute to all educaters, whether your teaching sighted children or children with sight or hearing problems.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Sullivan, known as "Teacher" to Helen Keller, was an extraordinary woman, who changed the life of her student. But there is much more to know about her.

At the age of 5, Anne contracted a bacterial eye disease called trachoma, which caused many painful infections over her lifetime and left her nearly blind. When she was 8 her mother died of tuberculosis. Her father, unable to care for three young children, gave her sister Mary to relatives to raise, but sent Anne and her brother Jimmie to an awful almshouse. Jimmie died within months, but Anne endured awful conditions for six years, which caused a lifetime of physical and mental problems.

By the end of their lives together, Helen was the caretaker for Anne. Very interesting story.

[Lory Hess]

It's a fine idea to focus on Anne Sullivan Macy, the brilliant, damaged woman who has always been in the shadow of her famous student, but due to the loss or absence of primary material, Nielsen has to step in with much speculation, much "perhaps" and "could have been." Some of this is inevitable when writing biography, but here it begins to seem like padding. And I object to the frequent "must have beens" which assume feeling and thoughts which may or may not have been the case.

I ended up feeling it would have been more interesting and revelatory to read the original source material, the letters and autobiographical manuscripts from Macy that do exist, with linking notes and commentary, rather than subjecting her to so much external interpretation.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting and detailed. The author allowed personal opinion and speculation to creep in--which is probably inevitable when dealing with the past. One quirk was that the author switches back and forth in referencing the women, sometimes referring to "Helen" and then to "Keller," and sometimes referring to "Annie" and then later to "Macy." I do feel I have a greater understanding of Anne Sullivan Macy, and all the obstacles she had to wade through in her life.

[Carrie Cantalupo-Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating biography. Very well researched and written. My only reasons for not 5 stars is there are only two photos and the author goes back and forth between calling Helen as Helen or Keller AND Annie are Annie, Macy, or Sullivan - often in the same paragraph. That was annoying to me. I wish she’d stuck with just Helen and Annie.

[Selena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned more about Anne Sullivan in the first few pages than I ever knew. Though I vaguely recall reading a "famous people in history" book (that I haven't found since) that included her, that mentioned her time in the asylum. Was interesting, but didn't quite make it to the end.

[Siobhan Beavis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insight into another era, and 2 outstanding women. The fortitude and intelligence of both impressive. However, the book was a slow read, with much of the writing (probably in its desire for detail and accuracy) being quite dry and academic.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice introduction about Ms Ann Sullivan, a complex and accomplished girl, woman, who's the teacher, friend and companion of the widely-admired and loved Helen Keller.

[Becky Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This woman was just as remarkable as Helen Keller! Fascinating biography.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative biography of Annie Sullivan and her Life with Helen Keller. Got a bit tedious in the last ⅛ or so.

[Janet Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history of a woman who’s life was tragic in so many ways.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Subject fascinating. Had such a hard time with the writing. Assumptions without evidence, scattered, characters called by two or three names without rhyme or reason.