The Story of My Life: Part I: Chapters 1-11

by Helen Keller
This account of Helen Keller's life is divided into three parts: Part I is Keller's autobiography, which she published in 1903; Part II is a selection of Keller's letters; and Part III consists of supplementary materials by Keller's teacher and lifelong friend, Anne Sullivan.

Here are links to our lists for the text: Part I: Chapters 1-11, Part I: Chapters 12-23, Part II: Letters, Part III: Chapters 1-2, Part III: Chapters 3-5

Here is a link to the full text: The Story of My Life

Here is a link to our lists for William Gibson's play about Keller's life, The Miracle Worker.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gesticulate
    show, express, or direct through movement
    I moved my lips and gesticulated frantically without result.
  2. emphatic
    forceful and definite in expression or action
    When we were fortunate enough to find a nest I never allowed her to carry the eggs home, making her understand by emphatic signs that she might fall and break them.
  3. indulgent
    tolerant or lenient
    My father was most loving and indulgent, devoted to his home, seldom leaving us, except in the hunting season.
  4. presumption
    a kind of discourtesy in the form of taking liberties
    I guarded both doll and cradle with the most jealous care; but once I discovered my little sister sleeping peacefully in the cradle. At this presumption on the part of one to whom as yet no tie of love bound me I grew angry.
  5. caprice
    a sudden desire
    But afterward, when I was restored to my human heritage, Mildred and I grew into each other's hearts, so that we were content to go hand-in-hand wherever caprice led us, although she could not understand my finger language, nor I her childish prattle.
  6. eminent
    having an illustrious reputation; respected
    When I was about six years old, my father heard of an eminent oculist in Baltimore, who had been successful in many cases that had seemed hopeless.
  7. oculist
    a medical doctor specializing in the treatment of the eye
    When I was about six years old, my father heard of an eminent oculist in Baltimore, who had been successful in many cases that had seemed hopeless.
  8. misgiving
    uneasiness about the fitness of an action
    Acting on the doctor's advice, we went immediately to Washington to see Dr. Bell, my father with a sad heart and many misgivings, I wholly unconscious of his anguish, finding pleasure in the excitement of moving from place to place.
  9. beneficence
    the quality of being kind or helpful or generous
    When the time of daisies and buttercups came Miss Sullivan took me by the hand across the fields, where men were preparing the earth for the seed, to the banks of the Tennessee River, and there, sitting on the warm grass, I had my first lessons in the beneficence of nature.
  10. verbatim
    using exactly the same words
    This she did by repeating to me as far as possible, verbatim, what she heard, and by showing me how I could take part in the conversation.
  11. gamut
    a complete extent or range
    They cannot distinguish the tone of the voice or, without assistance, go up and down the gamut of tones that give significance to words; nor can they watch the expression of the speaker's face, and a look is often the very soul of what one says.
  12. tact
    consideration in dealing with others
    It was my teacher's genius, her quick sympathy, her loving tact which made the first years of my education so beautiful.
  13. innate
    present at birth but not necessarily hereditary
    How much of my delight in all beautiful things is innate, and how much is due to her influence, I can never tell.
  14. deprivation
    the disadvantage that results from losing something
    Although I had been told this before, and although I understood my own deprivations, yet I had thought vaguely that since they could hear, they must have a sort of "second sight," and I was not prepared to find one child and another and yet another deprived of the same precious gift.
  15. pervade
    spread or diffuse through
    Here were great oaks and splendid evergreens with trunks like mossy pillars, from the branches of which hung garlands of ivy and mistletoe, and persimmon trees, the odor of which pervaded every nook and corner of the wood — an illusive, fragrant something that made the heart glad.
Created on Wed Sep 27 11:25:17 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Aug 11 10:54:58 EDT 2025)

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