At only nineteen months old, Helen Keller contracted a childhood illness that left her permanently blind and deaf. As a mature, confident woman, she showed the world that people with disabilities should not-and would not-be pushed aside. Helen was a wild, uncontrollable child who was frustrated by her inability to communicate with others. But after nearly two decades of work led by her teacher, Annie Sullivan, Helen not only learned to express herself through language, she became an author, a political activist, a lecturer, and a vaudeville performer. She worked tirelessly as an advocate and fundraiser on behalf of blind and deaf people. Helen Keller has enabled generations of people with similar challenges to excel beyond their wildest dreams. Book jacket.