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

Among the many qualities that this biography offers original reinterpretation of Anne Sullivan Macy's experiences as a woman, the daughter of immigrants (and as an ethnic minority), a reformer reaching across the economic barriers and social expectations, another woman with her own impairments. By highlighting Sullivan alone as well as through her famed relationship to Helen Keller, Nielsen offers us insights into a dynamic partnership that changes significantly over time. Her scholarship deserves particular attention, drawing not only on traditional sources but on broader cultural materials that enhance the context and meaning of this unique biography. I particularly appreciated that Nielsen acknowledged the "gray zones" in this work. It is simply not possible to know certain aspects about Sullivan's internal life (or details from her actual past). Noting when the data were unclear reminds us that historical biography strongly shapes our assumptions about the subject; owning what is interpretation and what is unknown enhances the credibility of the work. This thoughtful, critical study for all its intellectual sophistication is surprising for its incredibly clear prose. Engaging, at times unflinching, this work invites us to understand Macy Sullivan as a complex, human, and relevant figure on her own and through her relationship as teacher and friend to Keller. I recommend this to students, scholars, and the public at large.

This was a very good book about HElen KEller and her teacher Anne Macy. I enjoyed it very much.

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: The Story Of Helen Keller And Anne Sullivan Macy (Radcliffe Biography Series), 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.