Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Beyond the Miracle Worker

Beyond the miracle worker: the remarkable life of Anne Sullivan Macy and her extraordinary friendship with Helen Keller by Kim E. Nielsen 2009


This work focuses on the life of Anne Sullivan Macy, the famous “teacher” of
Helen Keller. The author Nielsen has written two books on Helen Keller and had access to archives of Perkins Institute for the Blind where Anne Sullivan attended as well as Helen Keller.

It is an interesting, well-researched book, but will also appeal to people who want a lighter read. Annie Sullivan was also disabled with poor eyesight due to a childhood eye infection Trachoma which resulted in a life time of eye pain, and she had to undergo several eye operations and at some points in her life, she could barely see. Annie’s mother died when she was 10 and Annie was put into an orphanage due to her father’s alcoholism.

At 13 yrs old she was able to attend the renowned Perkins school for the Blind. She received her education there and at 19 years of age, she was offered a job to educate Helen Keller. The book appealed to me as it illustrated the difficulties that both women had to overcome to get an education and the lack of employment opportunities for disabled persons in the early 20th century.