Listeners who are unfamiliar with Haben Girma may find her voice a little disconcerting at first because it sounds like that of a much younger person. Girma is a deaf-blind woman who overcame incredible odds and narrates her own story, which culminates with her graduation from Harvard Law School. We quickly move beyond her vocal delivery as we learn how she overcame many considerable challenges to live her life to the fullest. She never wavers in her descriptions of the continual barriers to her mobility. Her pace is steady and devoid of self-pity as we are overwhelmed by the details of the daily tasks that she fights to carry out, which able-bodied people enjoy without much reflection. Listeners will be spellbound by this inspiring true story of courage and persistence. M.R. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law
Narrated by Haben Girma
Haben GirmaUnabridged — 7 hours, 30 minutes
Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law
Narrated by Haben Girma
Haben GirmaUnabridged — 7 hours, 30 minutes
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Overview
Haben grew up spending summers with her family in the enchanting Eritrean city of Asmara. There, she discovered courage as she faced off against a bull she couldn't see, and found in herself an abiding strength as she absorbed her parents' harrowing experiences during Eritrea's thirty-year war with Ethiopia. Their refugee story inspired her to embark on a quest for knowledge, traveling the world in search of the secret to belonging. She explored numerous fascinating places, including Mali, where she helped build a school under the scorching Saharan sun. Her many adventures over the years range from the hair-raising to the hilarious.
Haben defines disability as an opportunity for innovation. She learned non-visual techniques for everything from dancing salsa to handling an electric saw. She developed a text-to-braille communication system that created an exciting new way to connect with people. Haben pioneered her way through obstacles, graduated from Harvard Law, and now uses her talents to advocate for people with disabilities.
Haben takes readers through a thrilling game of blind hide-and-seek in Louisiana, a treacherous climb up an iceberg in Alaska, and a magical moment with President Obama at The White House. Warm, funny, thoughtful, and uplifting, this captivating memoir is a testament to one woman's determination to find the keys to connection.
Editorial Reviews
★ 04/08/2019
With wit and passion, Haben, a disability rights lawyer, public speaker, and the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law, takes readers through her often unaccommodating world. Born in the Bay Area in 1988, Haben spent summers in her family’s homeland of Eritrea, in the capital Asmara, where her deafblind older brother hadn’t been allowed to attend school. While living in the U.S. afforded her more opportunity, she missed out on assignments, jokes, and life’s nuances: “It’s a sighted hearing classroom, in a sighted hearing school, in a sighted hearing society. In this environment, I’m disabled.” At a young age, Haben vowed to change that environment and pushed beyond her own comfort zones: dancing salsa, helping build a school in Mali, and climbing an iceberg. At Lewis & Clark College she advocated for a braille cafeteria menu; at Harvard Law, she developed a text-to-braille system, which allowed a second party to communicate details to her during classes, in court, and at a White House Americans with Disabilities Act celebration, where as guest speaker she was “starstruck around all these heroes who paved the way for Generation ADA.” This is a heartwarming memoir of a woman who champions access and dignity for all. (Aug.)
"Inspiring."—The New York Times
"A stirring memoir of love and resilience. Haben proves there are no limits for living joyously in the world. A fierce, glorious advocate for equal opportunity, she demonstrates that accessibility for all benefits all. Her memoir is a soul-inspiring gift."—Jewell Parker Rhodes, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Boys
"Reading Haben's story moved me in a way I didn't think was possible. She's a gifted writer, and her story will teach you about strength, perseverance, and determination. This is a strong reminder to embrace the unknown, to stand up for yourself, and to never give up."—Mashal Waqar, co-founder and COO, The Tempest
"Extraordinary...Haben's is a story of inspiration-and new American patriotism. She gives all of us fresh strength and hope."
—Lorene Cary, author of Black Ice and founder of Art Sanctuary
"What makes Haben's prodigious story even more remarkable is that she's not satisfied with being inspiring. Because she knows that achievement only happens when there is more than the support of individual extraordinary people, she pushes institutions and leaders in the academy, the government, and in big tech to widen the corridors of power and opportunity. Her intersectional approach to her work as an advocate for the disabled and as a Deafblind daughter of refugees refuses tokenization and demands true inclusion."—dream hampton, award-winning filmmaker, writer, and organizer
"Girma...is a talented narrator who captures defining moments in her life in a series of lyrical cameos. She writes with remarkable assurance and yet with a lightness of touch when tackling difficult issues. [A] profoundly important memoir."—The Times
"Gently powerful...vivid...This really is just the beginning of what is likely to be a long and fascinating story."—Forbes
"With wit and passion, Haben, a disability rights lawyer, public speaker, and the first Deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law, takes readers through her often unaccommodating world...This is a heartwarming memoir of a woman who champions access and dignity for all."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"This autobiography by a millennial Helen Keller teems with grace and grit."—O Magazine
"Warmhearted and optimistic, [HABEN] celebrates personal courage and triumph as well as the unlimited potential of those whose real disability is living in a society that too often does not make accommodations for their physical impairments. An inspiring and illuminating memoir."—Kirkus
"Riveting...[an] often hilarious and utterly inspiring memoir."—BookPage (starred review)
★ 07/01/2019
Born with deaf-blindness, Girma grew up with enough vision to know when someone was in front of her and enough hearing to know when someone close to her was talking. However, she had difficulty reading facial features or distinguishing people in group conversations. Relying on her own problem-solving skills, Girma overcame roadblocks while simultaneously obtaining her undergraduate and then law degree. In the process, she developed new methods of communication and found her calling in advocating for the deaf and blind communities in more accessible communication, education, and employment opportunities. As a lawyer and advocate, Girma shares a collection of vignettes illustrating the defining points in her life. She peppers her writing with a witty sense of humor and showcases her strength in facing obstacles, along with challenging antiquated societal beliefs about people with disabilities, whether describing her experience climbing Alaska's Mendenhall Glacier or helping a drunk friend get to his dorm by using her seeing-eye dog that he adores as a lure. VERDICT An absolute must-read; Haben's compelling account reveals a driven and accomplished woman and displays her impressive advocacy for the disabled community.—Stacy Shaw, Denver
Listeners who are unfamiliar with Haben Girma may find her voice a little disconcerting at first because it sounds like that of a much younger person. Girma is a deaf-blind woman who overcame incredible odds and narrates her own story, which culminates with her graduation from Harvard Law School. We quickly move beyond her vocal delivery as we learn how she overcame many considerable challenges to live her life to the fullest. She never wavers in her descriptions of the continual barriers to her mobility. Her pace is steady and devoid of self-pity as we are overwhelmed by the details of the daily tasks that she fights to carry out, which able-bodied people enjoy without much reflection. Listeners will be spellbound by this inspiring true story of courage and persistence. M.R. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
2019-05-26
An Eritrean American Deafblind disabilities advocate tells the story of how she learned to succeed in a world made to the measure of sighted, hearing people.
Haben grew up in Oakland as the daughter of Eritrean parents who fled war-torn Ethiopia. Born with exceptionally poor vision and hearing that deteriorated steadily as she aged, her Deafblind world felt neither "small [nor] limited" and was instead her comfortable "normal." Though the author's disabilities sometimes caused her to struggle in school and daily life, her positive outlook—shaped in part by parents who had struggled to build a new life in America and playmates who treated her as "someone with gifts to share and lessons to teach"—helped her overcome the barriers that stood in her way. As a teenager, the author consciously transcended both her limitations and the protective boundaries set by her parents by learning to salsa and participating in a school-building project in Mali. She spent part of her post-high school summer at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, where she learned how to navigate with a cane and guide dog and to use a radial arm saw. In college, the author unwittingly stumbled upon her career path when she fought for, and won, the right to have the printed cafeteria menus she could not read emailed to a personal computer that translated them into digital braille. She went on to attend Harvard Law School, becoming its first Deafblind graduate. As a public service lawyer, she became part of the legal team that helped expand coverage provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act to include not just the brick-and-mortar world, but the digital one as well. Warmhearted and optimistic, the book celebrates personal courage and triumph as well as the unlimited potential of those whose real disability is living in a society that too often does not make accommodations for their physical impairments.
An inspiring and illuminating memoir.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170206704 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Hachette Audio |
| Publication date: | 08/06/2019 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 955,929 |
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