Beyond the Miracle Worker: The Remarkable Life of Anne Sullivan Macy and Her Extraordinary Friendship with Helen Keller by Kim E. Nielsen

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

• 
  Sarah

  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.
  
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  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.
• 
  Lona Manning

  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

  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.
  
• 
  Stephanie

  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.
• 
  Erika

  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.
• 
  Nobo

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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.
• 
  Suresh Nair

  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

  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.
• 
  Lory Widmer 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.
• 
  Selena

  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.
• 
  Becky Petersen

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

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

  Well written and researched but dry. The history seemed to drown out the story.
• 
  Jennifer

  Annie Sullivan Macy was a badass. I’m glad I read this book. Lots of new info I didn’t know.
• 
  Eugenia

  Outstanding!
  
  I had always wondered what happened to the two as adults. This tells the story well. Thank you for your research.
• 
  Carol

  Anne's family, along with 1.8 million Irish arrive in North America, travel from Ireland (Irish famine 1846-1855; tuberculosis) for a better life and ends up residing in Feeding Hills, MA. During this time, the marriage rate has decreased (85.5% of female immigrants ages 15 to 35 years were single). Her parents Thomas and Alice had three children -- Anne (1866), Ellen (1867), and James (1869). Between 1870-72 Ellen died and infant son John was born dead. In 1873 her mother Alice gave birth to Mary. Anne didn't attend school because she had difficulty with her vision - discovered it is a contagious disease known as trachoma - which is prevalent in impoverished communities.
  
  Anne was eight when her mom died from tuberculosis which was the leading cause of death in the US through the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. It caused an astounding one out of every five deaths from 1800 to 1870. Her death affected her husband, an illiterate hired hand with three children. Eight year old Anne had vision issues; five year old Jimmie's hip caused him pain and mobility problems, and Mary was just a year old. Thomas couldn't handle the children, and drank himself until he fell apart. He lost his job, and house.
  
  Relatives in Springfield took in three year old Mary. Anne and Jimmie were sent to the state almshouse in Tewksbury, MA on Feb. 22, 1876. These almshouses brought numerous residents. But this facility was deteriorated rapidly. More than 900 residents lived in the institution (built for 500). Luckily, Jimmie and Anne were allowed to live together in the women's ward (and Jimmie wore a pinafore to aid the pretense.) They were able to "develop a life of their own that becomes meaningful, reasonable, and normal once you get close to it." In this space, part of it was partitioned off from the main room of the ward (for the placement of dead bodies awaiting pine boxes and transportation.)
  
  Jimmie's health declined and he died on May 31, 1876. In the dark, Anne reached out her hand and touched her little brother, under the sheet she could feel his cold little body. But someone came in and pulled her away. They dragged her away from his body, and she kicked and scratched and bit them until they dropped her upon the floor, and left her there, a heap of pain beyond words. One of the women -- a poor cripple -- hobbled to her, and bent down as far as she could to life her up; but the effort hurt her so that she groaned. Anne got up and helped her back into her bed. The cripple lady had her sit beside her, and spoke tender words of comfort to her. And so begins her story . . .
• 
  Joan

  This book is extraordinary. If you are new to reading about Annie and Helen, it may not be so obvious. Helen is very intelligent and apt pupil. Her story is fascinating. However, Annie is haunted by many demons and illnesses - AND is a brilliant teacher. She was able to take Helen to places that no one had conceived were possible.
  
  To get a sense of the "state of the art" in teaching blind and deaf children when Annie became Helen's teacher, I suggest reading, "The Imprisoned Guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman, the Original Deaf-Blind Girl" by Elisabeth Gitter. Howe's was almost the only documented case of how a blind and deaf child could be taught to communicate. Annie's results with Helen outstrip Mr. Howe's work by at least a hundred fold.
  
  "Beyond the Miracle Worker" makes evident how many roadblocks that Annie faced at every phase of her life, and yet Helen's progress was miraculous.
  
  If you want to really dive into the existing biographies of Annie and Helen I also suggest.
  
  "ANNE SULLIVAN MACY THE STORY BEHIND HELEN KELLER" by NELLA BRADDY. Braddy was a contemporary of Annie and was a friend of Annie and Helen.
  
  "Helen and teacher: The story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy" (Radcliffe biography series)
  by Joseph P Lash. This is very comprehensive.
  
  This collection of biographies will round out the story of Annie and Helen AND will emphasize the importance of "Beyond the Miracle Worker."
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Kerri

  I actually firs found out about this book because my 84-year-old Nanna brought it to the pool with her a few weeks ago and was telling me about it. Then it was finally added to Bookshare and I could read it for myself. Everyone knows the story of Helen Keller, but few are particularly familiar with the life story of her teacher and lifelong friend and companion, Annie Sullivan. This book provides insight into Sullivan's ackground, from her traumatic childhood to her years at Perkins School for the Blind. Through letters, diary entries and previously published works it explores Sullivan's relationships with major figures in her life, including Helen and Sullivan's husband John Macy. And t provides a glimpse into the heart and mind of a woman who struggled with her past, those in authority and her own multiple disabilities. A very interesting and well-researched book that I'd recommend to anyone with an interest in Helen Keller or teaching.