It is truely amazing how helpful this booklet is! It really taught me how to be a genuine listener. I am one of those who likes to help people that have a problem by giving advice or asking multiple questions. Listening to understand helps to change those bad habits and learn how effective it can be with those relationships that mean the most! I find that not only does it work well at home, but with professionals too. I also find that the other person feels appreciated and understood. If you find that you continuously deal with people that bring up the same problems or don't know how to listen to others effectively, read LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND.

This book clearly and concisely teaches how to really listen, let the other person know you have heard them, and preserve or improve the relationship in the process. Most importantly, it teaches you WHEN it is appropriate to listen, which is more often than you think! The concepts in this book are simple and easily understood, but practicing these skills to the point where they become natural takes time and patience.

Once you have mastered the Listening to Understand skill in this book, you can find more ways to apply that powerful skill by reading another book by Helen Hall Clinard, "Winning Ways to Succeed with People." The listening skill taught in this book really is key to learning the interpersoanl communication skills that Clinard teaches in her other books.

"Listen To Understand is an enormously powerful book! I could not put it down once I began reading. I truly identify with the comments about how few people really understand what listening is all about or the power of the skill."

Helen Humphreys' The Lost Garden is a beautiful little gem of a novel, a quick and wonderful read about one woman's perfect moment and time and how it quickly eluded her. Gwen Davis is a lonely woman in the early days of World War II in London when she volunteers to lead a group of women in a war-effort farming experiment on an abadoned estate in the British countryside. She is devastated to leave London, devastated by the war and yet her experiences away from London turn out to be the most rewarding of her life. She finally forms a meaningful friendship and begins to fall in love with one of the Canadian soldiers briefly stationed at the estate. Gwen reflects on the nature of love and happiness, both in her life and in the lives of those around her. This is an excellent, if short, rewarding novel. Enjoy.

I rarely cry when I read anymore. But I cried almost through the whole last chapter. This is a beautiful book of love lost, memory captured and the beauty of gardens. I recommend it.

Helen Humphreys is nothing less than a superb story-teller. The tone of this W.W.II drama is lyrical, wistful and bold, and her characters bend and sway in the nostalgia she so openly releases. It is narrated by Gwen Davis a single 30-something horticulturist who joins the war effort by volunteering to lead a group of girls in growing potatoes on a deserted estate in the English countryside. Used to working in a solitary lab environment, Gwen has to face her shyness and lack of self-confidence as she forms her relationships with the girls in her crew. Her amateur gardeners are young and energetic and would rather be flirting with the soldiers who are also stationed at the estate while awaiting deployment. One of the girls, however, is different... Jane. Since Jane's fiancé has been declared missing in action she's been slowing fading away, just barely holding onto that fragile thread of hope. Jane and Gwen befriend one another, as well as two of the soldiers staying in the estate house. Then Gwen finds the best companion of all... a secret garden hidden within the grounds. With her knowledge of horticulture and some research into the inhabitants of the estate, Gwen beings to piece together the story the garden has to tell... and finds that it is telling her story as well.

If someone would've told me that I'd learn quite a lot about gardening techniques while reading this book, I might have passed it up, because I wouldn't have realized that there is a beautiful and sensitive language gardens can speak. I think any reader who enjoys creative expression will find they can relate to this story. Humphreys delivers her tale with perfect timing, swiftly wrapping-up after the climax, yet leaving just enough loose threads to keep you thinking about the characters long after the last page has been turned.

Don't be misled. This is a manual, not a textbook. Wilkie demonstrates in her own writing precisely the same fundamentals which she recommends to others in need of strengthening their skills. She offers "9 Rules" for:

• Better Business Writing

• Pithy Presentations

• Lively Listening

• Meaningful Meetings

• Publishable Prose

What she calls "Rules" are actually guidelines. As I read this book, I was reminded of so much of what I learned while reading the fiction and non-fiction of E.B. White. He and Wilkie seem to be in almost total agreement on how to think clearly as well as to write effectively. What gives this little book special value is its direct relevance to so many different business applications. If you are having problems with both oral and written communications, if you wish to have your "messages" be understood and (better yet) have greater impact, read and then re-read this book. It would also be an excellent holiday or birthday gift for school, college, and university students. Just a thought....

Helen Wilkie, in less than 150 pages, gives you clear and easy-to-follow guidelines for business writing, presentations, listening skills, meetings, and getting articles published. As a former Corporate Communications Specialist, I found Helen's tips to be right on the money and an excellent reminder of what effective communications should be. I recommend this book to those starting out in their business careers and to those with many years of memos, meetings and presentations behind them. If you are looking for a book on business communications - put this one at the top of your list.

Helen Wilkie knows her stuff has a wonderful writing style that makes the facts fun to read and easy to remember. It's light hearted and the content is solid and factual.

Polar Dream is the personal memoir of Helen Thayer, the first woman (and the oldest person at age 50) to travel on foot, unresupplied, to the magnetic North Pole. Her harrowing trek on skis for 27 days, aided only by a dog trained to warn her of approaching bears, is described in vivid, engaging detail, as are her seven encounters with polar bears which she survived through skill, luck and quick thinking. Black-and-white photographs, including ones taken by the author during her trek, enhanced a narrative of profound insights into the beauty and wildness of the arctic. Readers who appreciate true life adventure will enjoy the excitement and wonder of Helen Thayer's Polar Dream.

I first read this book in a German translation and then attended a lecture in New York by Helen Thayer, the author. Because of her amazing world wide adventures from the Polar Regions, to the deserts and the Amazon rain forest I expected someone six-feet tall. Instead I listened as this five-feet-three-inch diminutive dynamo enthralled her audience with her solo walk to the magnetic North Pole at 50 years old and her subsequent adventures including a trek of almost 1,500 miles across the Gobi desert last year at 63 years old.
Polar Dream, the story of her solo walk to the magnetic North Pole with her Inuit dog Charlie is invigorating, with a down to earth humble look at life.
Charlie is loyaly devoted to Helen and saves her life from a polar bear. Polar Dream has been available for ten years. The first edition was excellent and the second edtion is even better with many more photos. I bought 14 books in English, 4 books in German, and one in Dutch for Christmas presents and all recipients are inspired and can't wait for Thayer's next book.
The fast moving, highly descriptive story is sentitive and not afraid to expose vulnerable inner thoughts and feelings.
This is a great book for men and women as proven by my Christmas gift list.
And kudos to wonderful Charlie, Helen's devoted dog-assitant and life saver on the journey.

Without a snowmobile, dog team or resupply, Helen Thayer walked and skied alone to the Magnetic North Pole with her Eskimo dog Charlie. This true story of the trust that bonded woman and canine companion together is a classic. Frostbite, storms, broken sea ice, a tent fire, near starvation, and polar bears, never deterred this amazing five-feet-three-inch, 50 year old woman from her goal. A recent shattering crisis in my life left me without hope until a friend gave me this book. It changed my life, enabling me to set a goal, look ahead with optimism and never give up just as Helen Thayer did in her quest to reach the M.N.Pole. Her writing style is fast moving and delightfully descriptive and portrays a humble down to earth individual who absolutely adores her Charlie who saved her life from a polar bear. The writing style makes you feel as if you are right there traveling with Helen and Charlie. This second edition has many more photos than the first and the updated first chapter and the new Epilogue enhance an already great book. A definite must read!

Most sequels stink. A lot. George MacDonald, the first fantasy master, managed to buck that trend with the sequel to "The Princess and the Goblin," with "The Princess and Curdie." If anything, this book is even better than the first -- a bit more mature, a little bit darker, but with the same haunting prose and likeable characters.

In the time since the defeat of the goblins, Curdie has gone back to his life as a miner. Unfortunately he also begins to stray from the pure actions he showed in the first book, pushing aside thoughts of Princess Irene's grandmother and trying to convince himself that the more supernatural events of "Goblin" were just imagination. Until he needlessly wounds a pigeon with his bow and arrow, and takes it to the stately, mysterious Grandmother.

As Curdie regains his innocence and his faith, the Lady sends him on a quest, with a weird doglike creature called Lina who was once a human. She also (by having him stick his hands into burning roses) makes his hands able to feel a person's soul when he touches them, if a person is "growing into a beast" on the inside. Now Curdie and Lina set off for the capital, where Irene's father is physically ill, and falling prey to the scheming of his sinister officials.

If the first book was Irene's, then this book is undeniably Curdie's. The focus is on him almost constantly through the book, and it's his internal struggles that we are fascinated by. Every person (well, most of them, anyway) eventually loses their childlike faith and innocence, as Curdie has begun to do at the beginning. He's naturally a more skeptical person than Irene, and so time begins to fade whatever he thought he saw; also, being "one of the guys" in the mine requires a seemingly more mature attitude. But with the loss of innocence also goes some of the faith and internal beauty, and so MacDonald brings Curdie back to the gentle, trusting kid he was in the first book.

The Lady (also known as Irene's great-great-great-grandmother, Lady of the Silver Moon, and Mother Wotherwop -- don't ask about the last one) is also a more prominent figure. She's still both maternal and supernaturally distant, very warm while also seeming to know everything. Precisely who and what she is remains a mystery, but we see more of her subtle, awe-inspiring powers here.

The writing is, as the first book was, immensely dreamy and haunting. MacDonald let rip with the surreally beautiful descriptions of the Lady's room and appearances, and of scenes like Curdie sticking his hands into the rose petals. Like in "Princess and the Goblin," the plot takes awhile to get moving, but it's so well-written that you probably won't notice.

"The Princess and Curdie" is currently harder to find than the first book, which strikes me as a little odd. (Especially since this duology is just screaming to be compiled in one book) But anyone who enjoyed the first book, or even just enjoys a gorgeously-written fantasy, will definitely want to get this sequel.

'The Princess and Curdie' is a superb sequel to the brilliant children's fantasy 'The Princess and the Goblin'. In both books, MacDonald displays his incredible talent as a story-teller for children, by crafting a tale that makes great reading aloud material for children. Curdie, a miner's son, is sent by a magical princess on an urgent quest to save the king and his kingdom. His companion is Lina, an ugly monster of a dog who proves to be a steadfast, powerful and courageous companion. Curdie discovers that evil and wickedness threaten to overthrow the good kingdom of the king and his daughter Irene, and it is only when Curdie and Lina escape perils and dangers and marshal together the forces of good that the dangers can be overcome.

In the process of telling the story, MacDonald entertains a few curious notions rather surprising for a Christian. Especially surprising are the ideas of a mountain being bubbles of heat thrust from the center of the earth (p.2), and the earth being a cooled body that flew off the sun (p.3) ' ideas more akin to evolutionary thinking than Christian faith in the Biblical teaching about creation. This book is also somewhat different from 'The Princess and the Goblin' on a literary level, because in this book MacDonald's story-telling at times employs vocabulary and sentence structure that is overly complex for children, and at times he waxes overly philosophical.

But those weaknesses aside, it's a thrilling and captivating story of an exciting quest, enhanced by deeper underlying Christian themes. MacDonald describes the king as 'a real king ' that is, one who ruled for the good of his people and not to please himself.' (p.5). True citizens of this kingdom, such as Curdie's parents, are those who 'always loved what was fair and true and right better, not than anything else, but than everything else put together.' (p.35) In contrast there are many false citizens who have open doors but closed hearts, and who live a life of wickedness, chiefly characterized by lying, drinking, stealing and unkindness. These seeds of corruption also contain the seeds of destruction, and threaten to overthrow the kingdom. The morality is clear and solidly Christian.

Particularly fascinating is the concept that all humans are either noble human beings, or else slowly turning into animals on the inside. By putting his hands into a magical fire, Curdie is given the ability to perceive the inner layer of man by means of a handshake: 'you will henceforth be able to know at once the hand of a man who is growing into a beast.' (p.73) One cannot help but wonder if MacDonald has too much faith in human nature, since he does not spell out that it is only the regenerating Spirit that makes a heart true and noble. But the underlying truth is valid: all men's hearts are inclined to be beastly because of sin, but by the grace of God some hearts are changed to be noble and truly human. It echoes the truth of the teaching of Jesus Christ: where your heart is, there your treasure is, and ultimately you cannot serve both God and Mammon. Those who are overwhelmed by wickedness and by love of Mammon, are eventually destroyed, whereas those with a pure heart and love of God establish the kingdom of righteousness. The pessimism of the final ending raises many questions, but perhaps can be best explained as a growing wickedness among men leading to a complete and final judgment, similar to the flood and the end of the world. MacDonald's tale is in the end very reminiscent of the Biblical pattern of the Judges and Kings: in times of wickedness, God raised up judges and kings to ensure the establishment of a kingdom where justice and righteousness reigned.

Just as in the 'The Princess and the Goblin', Irene's great-great-grandmother plays a central and decisive role. She is also known as 'The Mother of Light', 'the Lady of the Silver Moon' and less affectionately as 'Old Mother Wotherwop'. MacDonald attributes to her both omniscience ' 'I am always about' ' and a measure of omnipotence (p.53). She is the Light that guides the way in darkness (p.50), and she it is who commissions Curdie for his quest and ensures its success.

These timeless tales contain enduring truths, as well as delightful stories. What they've done for over 100 years is something that they are still doing today - pleasing imaginative children and adults with a tale of lasting significance.

George MacDonald has the gift of expressing a deep theological idea through the form of a story.I grew up with his fairy stories,as a Adult,I am still affected by the skillful and beautiful portrayal of the quest for wisdom of a pure heart.The Princess and Curdie,is a story of just that.Curdies own journey is a story of the Christian walk and if one wishes can learn much from it.Do not get the idea that The Princess and Curdie is dull however!This book pays tribute to George MacDonalds fantastic imagination,as a child and as an "grownup" once picked up this book is difficult to put down.Perhaps the deepest things are also the most interesting.

This is my favorite book on Reiki. As all good things that have great power and energy, Reiki has generated a lot of discussion about who, what, how and when. Look no further. This story will touch your heart and if you haven't already you will want to try Reiki for yourself. I teach Reiki and recommend this book above all others. Hawayo Takata dedicated her life to this wonderful energy and paved the way for many miracles. It is truly an inspiring story.

I am a practicing Reiki Master in the Sacramento area, and have read many books on Reiki, becoming more confused along the way.

Reading this book and Living Reiki, coupled with my own direct experience of Reiki, brought home to me again how simple yet powerful Reiki is, and highlighted the fact that some physical problems take a bit longer to heal and require quite a few Reiki sessions.

This eloquent book is void of new-age thinking, chakra balancing, and the use of Reiki symbols: It brings home the fact that all that is needed is to be attuned to Reiki and then place one's hands on the body in order to start the healing process, in oneself or another, and that chronic conditions will take longer to right themselves.

Four months ago I started daily Reiki sessions, several a day lasting one-half hour, on a friend of mine diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and given only weeks to live. The cancer is almost totally gone and the terminal diagnois has been lifted. Chemotherapy side-effects were kept at minimum, and once I started Reiki, my friend never again experienced pain.

For my new students and those unaccquainted with Reiki, this little book is a great and inspiring introduction to what Reiki is and the incredible things that Reiki can do.

This book is a phenomenal book! The story of how Hawayao Takata brought Reiki to the United States, and the Love and dedication in which she taught and honored the Reiki Energy and the Usui System of Reiki Healing. I have read many many many books on Reiki, this book "Hawayo Takata's Story" is simple as Reiki is simple!

As a Reiki Master I used this book in all my classes and I recommend this book to my students and friends, and then I suggest they read other books AFTER they read this one, and then they are able to see that REIKI IS SIMPLE. Anyone who would like to know what Reiki is, how it came to be, how it came to the US, and how to heal and raise one's consciousness through Reiki, this is the book to read!

Thank you: Yumnah Zuel Aguba El, Hollywood, Florida

Just goes to show what a little ingenuity and ability to think on your feet can accomplish-even if you are a sloth!! A fun story about playing the game just enough to be left alone to be who you really are...My (almost) 3 year old loves this story, and I love reading it over and over and over and...

Score One for the Sloths, written by Helen Lester and illustrated by Lynn Musinger, is a wonderful story that truly defines the nature of the animals in a way a child can understand and enjoy. The story is about Sleepy Valley Sloth School, a school where sloths do nothing all day except sleep and eat. About halfway through the book, Sparky, the perky sloth, comes to the school. The lazy sloths do not welcome her arrival until they find out that because of their poor academic performance, their school might be shut down.
The entertaining story features wonderful illustrations. The book has relatively easy language, and it is probably aimed at an early elementary school level. Helen Lester does a great job of portraying the typical sloth as well as the atypical sloth. The story conveys a message to children readers about stereotypes: although sloths have a reputation for being lazy, some do not fit that image. The illustrations work wonderfully with the text to tell a story about one sloth that saved the day for the rest.

Lester, Helen. Score One For the Sloths. Illus. Lynn Munsinger.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001

The sloths at school are content to be sleepy sloths, until a new go-getter sloth arrives to drive them all crazy. But the pesty new arrival proves the sloths' salvation when an official decides to shut the school due to its low academic scores. Fun drawings make Score One For The Sloths an exceptional story.

My younger brother, David, just passed away after being in a car accident. I miss him dearly and am finding it so difficult to cope with the fact that his arms will never be around me again.
I read Sandy's book two years ago, and the message of the book has stayed with me. I know that although physically, I cannot touch David, his spirit is all around me and there is still a way to connect. Sandy's book taught me to write, and not to be afraid of what comes out. Through writing, we can recieve powerful messages and through words and thoughts we can learn to heal.

Sandy Goldberg reveals the Treasure beneath loss--the loss of her infant daughter! This treasure is the renewed companionship of the soul, bringing solace, peace, and the awakening of "who you really are". Sandy takes the reader out of the grief that causes bitterness and anger and introduces the healing guidance of the soul which awakens one's true life purpose. The story of Talia's birth and death (before the birth announcements were mailed) is a true story, poignant in its heart-wrenching details, inspiring in its deeper message. Highly recommended for anyone who is going through or has experienced this kind of loss. Thank you, Sandy Goldberg, for your shared wisdom and compassion for all parents who have or will endure such a loss, and for your revelations of the Treasure lying beneath this experience.

This inspirational woman brings us into a deeply intimate time in her life, when she is dealing with the loss of her child, and shows us how much Faith and our connection with God can guide us through life's most difficult crises. This book re-awakened a connection I had hidden for years and has helped me through many difficult times in my life. A must read for anyone searching for guidance and fulfillment.

This book is great for parents. It offers realistic advice! I am the author of The ABC's of College Life, which is a street-smart guide for teens. I consider this book the street-smart guide for the 'rents!

As a very protective parent I wanted to read all I could about my daughters up in coming experience at college. I myself never attend college and this book gave me so much insight. I appreciate the author's candid talk about difficult topics such as alcohol and drugs. I felt at ease after reading it. I recommend this book to everyone I know with kids heading off to college. I also purchased and read Major In Success by Patrick Combs and it was the perfect book for my daughter. Don't Tell Me What To Do Just Send Money was a great book for me and Major In Success was perfect for my daughter. It gave her all the advice she needed to make the most of her college experience.

After reading 4 to 5 various books similar to this topic I wished that I would have read this one first. It covers it all! A very thorough book full of insights into parenting during this questionable time of your childs life. I love the "What to Do" and "What Not to Do" sections and also the "What You Are Thinking" and "What Your Child is Thinking". My daughter is now a freshman at UF and this book was very affirming as I reflected back and found out that YES....this is NORMAL! This would of been the only book I bought and spent my time reading IF only I would have found it sooner. It will truly serve as a reference and I will keep it close at hand so I can flip through the index to find the current "crisis" explained and get insights as to how to handle. I plan on purchasing this book for graduation gifts for the parents of those children graduating from High School. It is a MUST read!

Informative! It does get a bit long & wordy at times, but it's a fair representation of Helen & Annie's lives. The more I read about Annie Sullivan, the more I like her. I think it was a real shame that Arthur & Kate Keller felt threatened by the close bond Annie had with Helen. I think Arthur & Kate just wanted Helen to be "trained," but not really the free independent spirit she was meant to be. I'm so glad Annie stood by her & helped her become a free person & became a lifelong friend to Helen as well. Annie was very open about whatever failings she'd had & was a warm, loving supportive guide in Helen's life. I get the feeling Helen & Annie had almost a mother-daugher-like bond, which of course practically killed Arthur & Kate. The stupid thing was, the Keller parents wanted to just shift over the responibility to Annie of educating her & getting her to fit into society, yet wanted total control over Helen's life. If anyone was manipulative & controlling, it was Arthur & Kate. Esp. Arthur, I think was really patronizing & downright domineering toward Annie. Kate didn't help matters either & when I read about her attempts to break Helen & Pete up later on & her consent to try to split Helen & Annie up, I really lost respect for Kate. I know I'm slamming Kate & Arthur here, but I see Annie as more of a loving parent figure in Helen's life. I really commend Annie for standing strong against Helen's domineering, manipulative parents. Oh, boy, was that John Macy a real creep! I was sooo glad Annie got away from him; he accused Annie of being "manipulative & controlling" when he was controlling himself! He KNEW Annie & Helen had a tight bond, yet after he married Annie, he started giving poor Annie a hard time about it! What was really contemptable was that John wrote to Kate & others badmouthing Annie behind her back & it's good that the book exposed that clearly. That made me lose respect for John too; sorry, but I have no sympathy for John Macy. I think Annie tried really hard to be a good wife, yet John just criticized her for being too close to Helen. Poor Annie, it was sad reading about her heartbreak. It was touching & kind of reassuring to read that it was Helen who came to Annie's support when Annie couldn't stop crying for several days over John. It was Helen who fired a letter off to John blasting him for badmouthing Annie. I cheered when Helen was the one who helped Annie get back on her feet, esp. since I hear that John cleaned out the Macys' joint account & closed it without Annie's consent & Annie had to struggle to get her career going again. Boy, was it inspiring to read about Annie's heart healing & her getting her writing going again as well as back on her feet financially! I love how Helen & Annie stood by each other all the way & once Polly joined them, stood by them too. Annie's shaky pride suffered a lot of blows in her life, but always she managed to get back on her feet. I always knew Helen was forever grateful to Annie for freeing her from her early wordless prison & helping her get started to an independent free life & Helen showed this gratitude by being the one to take care of Annie when Annie grew old & frail & went permanently blind. It was a touching mother-daugher bond almost...when Helen was young, Annie looked out for her, then the roles reversed; when Annie got older & weaker, Helen was the one to look out for her & it was great that Helen was able to be by her bedside when her mentor & friend died. What was wonderful also was that Annie was a really sweet, accepting person; she had so many problems in her life, yet never sank into self-pity; she even made wry jokes about her blindness & even wrote a self-effacing column "Foolish Remarks From a Foolish Woman." That part cracked me up! Annie was a quick-tempered little thing, but was quick to forgive & had a big heart & I'm glad this book acknowledged that. Even Helen said that Annie was generous "to a fault." But the last best gift Annie gave Helen was the capacity to be completely independent, even from her, so once Annie died, with only a little help from Polly, Helen was able to live a free life, even long after Annie was gone. I say kudos to both Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan!!!!

This is the best biography about Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller that I have ever read. Since I was a child I have been fascinated by them and have read everything that I could get my hands on. Lash goes beyond their heroism and describes Annie and Helen as real people with "feet of clay."

He relies heavily on voluminous correspondence to show the many facets of Helen and those in her life. Many of these details are not explained in great deal in other biographies. For example, Helen's father tried to shore up his finances with loans (often defaulted) from Helen's patrons. The "Frost King" incident caused many people to doubt Annie's voracity and credibility as a teacher for the rest of her life. Mr.Sandborn and Mr. Anagnos used the controversy to divert credit from Annie's role as Teacher to Helen and to re-focus attention on the role that the Perkins Institute played in her education. Lash also shows that John Macy had a complex relationship (for the good and the bad) with both Annie and with Helen. Helen was a radical Socialist and often risked her popularity and therefore income. In the end the reader sees that Helen and all those around her did great things, but they were not perfect. Insecurity, jealousy, money and a desire for love and fame caused all of them to act ugly sometimes.

The other point that was never clear to me before, is that Helen and Annie spent their lives marketing themselves in order to generate an income. Helen's father faced a serious financial downturn that prevented him from supporting them from Helen's young womanhood on. Therefore, to continue Helen's formal education and to maintain a home away from Alabama, they had to cultivate sponsors, write publishable material, and earn money speaking at a myriad of functions. In many ways, this was an uncertain life that dictated that they remain in good standing with public opinion at all times.

The other connection that Lash made for me concerns the complexity, the depth and the breadth of Annie and Helen's relationship. Because Annie suffered through a harrowing childhood, she desperately needed to create a loving family. Helen presented the perfect opportunity for Annie to be needed and to love and be loved unconditionally. While some people construed their relationship to be unhealthy or manipulative, it seems that it was a natural outgrowth of their particular situation. Once again, it was not perfect, but it served a huge need for them both.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a more realistic view of the lives of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan.

The lives of Helen Keller and her teacher, Ann Sullivan Macy are eternally intertwined. Helen Keller, blind and deaf since infancy depended on Annie since the age of 6 when the latter was hired to teach her.

This comprehensive, fascinating and completely riviting biography does an excellent job of separating the two women's lives and analyzing each woman in her own right. Helen takes giant steps beyond the water pump where Annie first impressed upon her the concept of language. It is to this author's credit that the reader does not languish at that water pump, but follows these women throughout their lives.

The true symbiosis is fully described when other teachers as well as Helen's own mother Kate, try to separate her from Annie. Feeling that her maternal authority had been usurped, Kate understandably wanted to wean Helen from Annie. Each attempt by any person to effect such a change resulted in disaster. Even Annie's marriage to a gifted editor named John Macy ended in an acrimonious split because he felt Helen took up too large a portion of their lives together. From all accounts, Macy seemed to feel that Annie used the same domineering methods she had used on the child Helen with him. He also described Annie as "manipulative and controlling," which certainly seem like apt descriptions of her approach. Resentful of Helen's constant presence and feeling like an odd member of an equally odd triadic relationship, John retreats further from the marriage.

When Annie dies, Helen is disconsolate; she feels she can't survive without her "Teacher," although she, by that point had been at Annie's side for nearly half a century. A bright, progressive woman named Polly assumes the role of "Teacher," and Helen flourishes under her gentle tutlage and interpretation. Polly is clearly accepting of Helen's challenges and appears to make a sincere effort to see that Helen is fully included in all conversations and activities which she [Polly] is part of. One does not get the sense that Polly is a martyr. One gets the impression that Polly is loyal and determined with no agenda of her own.

Helen's relationship with Polly does appear to be much healthier than her relationship with Annie. This book fully explores Helen's character, her life experiences and the types of relationships she forged in the post-Teacher years with intelligence and sensitivity.