Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law

Wow! I learned a lot from Haben Girma! I did not know why I felt kicked the stomach when someone told me that I was "Inspiring". Read her book and learn about Abelism.The first part of her book, Haben Girma introduces herself. Instead of what most of us, she sees splashes of color. To me, that was very reassuring as I have glacoma and have always known, color is what I would miss the most if I lost my sight. She has a very limited range of sound frequencies. A few high frequency sounds and she described the low frequency are like hearing a washing machine. Intelligent and with a robust sense of humor as shown about stories of her family life.To prove to her parents that she could take care of herself and not be dependent on them, she went to Mali as a volunteer to help build a school for children. You will learn how one teacher thought she was failing a course when it was really not knowing the details of the assignments. If you are a hearing and a seeing person, you do not realize what actually gets through. Yes, you hear sounds but without clarity. How make that clarity? Break down the barriers! Use technology! You can do it. And a lot of boundaries are from people. Let them know what is not working and find a way to break through!I loved this book. Haben Girma understands so much. I hope that she continues to write and to fight for disability rights through the Courts, especially making Wow! I learned a lot from Haben Girma! I did not know why I felt kicked the stomach when someone told me that I was "Inspiring". Read her book and learn about Abelism.The first part of her book, Haben Girma introduces herself. Instead of what most of us, she sees splashes of color. To me, that was very reassuring as I have glacoma and have always known, color is what I would miss the most if I lost my sight. She has a very limited range of sound frequencies. A few high frequency sounds and she described the low frequency are like hearing a washing machine. Intelligent and with a robust sense of humor as shown about stories of her family life.To prove to her parents that she could take care of herself and not be dependent on them, she went to Mali as a volunteer to help build a school for children. You will learn how one teacher thought she was failing a course when it was really not knowing the details of the assignments. If you are a hearing and a seeing person, you do not realize what actually gets through. Yes, you hear sounds but without clarity. How make that clarity? Break down the barriers! Use technology! You can do it. And a lot of boundaries are from people. Let them know what is not working and find a way to break through!I loved this book. Haben Girma understands so much. I hope that she continues to write and to fight for disability rights through the Courts, especially making it sure that everyone is included in the conversation.

Gosh, Haben has such an interesting perspective and story to tell. I hope I can learn from her story and be a better human when dealing with disabled and abled people. Thanks for the work you do Haben <3

I had a chance to attend a speaking engagement where Haben was the guest speaker. Everyone should have a chance to engage with this fabulous and brilliant woman. Recommend her book as an amazing experience!

The word "inspiring" is probably not the word Haben Girma or anyone with disabilities likes to hear after hearing their stories. However, it is hard not to use the word "inspiring" when you read her memoir, and learned about her courage and accomplishments. Perhaps the word "inspiring" should not be used as a source of inspiration to overcome our obstacles but rather used as an inspiration that we are all uniquely gifted, and our gifts are waiting to be discovered by ourselves and/or others. As Haben pointed out, people with disabilities get called "inspiring" so often that the word feels like a euphemism for pity and I understand where she's coming from. Perhaps the word "galvanizing" should be used instead. Among the many things we do not get to choose in life (e.g., birthplace, skin color, gender, parents), Haben did not get to choose to be abled/disabled; she was born deafblind. Haben takes readers on a journey where she travelled across the world to help build a school in Mali, climbed icebergs in Alaska, trained her guide dog in New Jersey, studied law at Harvard Law School and shared a lifetime moment with President Obama at the White House. The stories were not spectacular or enthralling but they provided a unique perspective about disability. As an example, in Chapter 17 (Ableism and the Art of Blind PB&J), Haben shared an encounter with his little cousin, Yafet, where he demanded Haben to make him a PB&J sandwich. Haben refused and then asked Yafet a simple question - "Can a blind person make a PB&J sandwich?" Yafet answered "No" despite seeing Haben making one. This short encounter shows how assumptions nondisabled people make on disabled people can be insidious to the disabled community. As Haben wrote, "Most people choose to accept ableism, because rejecting it—going against the dominant narrative—would take more conscious effort. I want Yafet to reject ableism. If he says that a blind person can make a PB&J, then I’ll make him one." Another story worth highlighting was Haben's involvement in the case between National Federation of the Blind v. Scribd. This was a case which set legal precedent in making online businesses around the country to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Unfortunately, Haben did not include the brief she wrote for the case which I found disappointing because I wanted to read her legal writing. My favorite part of this memoir came at the very end where Haben included a "Brief Disability Accessibility Guide". This guide listed ways to talk about disability including positive messages to send and harmful messages to avoid. How messages are broadcasted can help or hurt inclusion for disabled people, and therefore, I found this guide to be useful for advocates and supporters. Overall, I enjoyed reading this memoir even though some of the stories weren't as captivating as I wanted them to be. I hope she authors another book in the future which further discusses inclusion in different settings.

This is a book about the amazing journey of a tenacious, intelligent, deaf-blind young woman. It's also an example of what could be possible if every disabled person had the support they needed to thrive. We live in a time when only 2 percent of deaf people worldwide have access to sign language. And where only 1 percent of blind people have access to braille. We need disabled literacy to participate in the world.Haben’s self-belief and achievements are remarkable. She is a shining light in the darkness. As we are mired in a world where leaders are more interested in profits and populism than innovation and compassion.Haben uses every advantage of her incredible success to make the world a better place for every disabled person. I would love to see more non-disabled people taking up her cause so that we could get more done.The systematic ableism of modern society must end. It robs disabled children of a voice. Thank you, Haben, for writing this book and being who you are. You give me hope for the future.

Very inspirational book. I bought one for myself and as a gift.

This is one of the best book's that i have read in a very long time about a lady who has overcome countless hurdles and obstacles during her life to help ensure that people of all disabilities have access to reading materials. It really is a must read.

Really enjoyed this book!’

Incredible book must read!

Haben is a wonderful book, which takes you into the world of a woman who has been working towards an inclusive society since she was a young girl and went to Mali to help build a school. The storytelling is so vivid it made me feel like I was right there with her. And it made it very hard to put the book down, when it was time to sleep... The book also really drives home the importance of inclusion and accessibility in society. It shows that a person with disabilities can do anything they set their mind to as long as society doesn’t hold them back by denying equal access to services. I personally wouldn’t have thought that a deaf blind person could surf or climb icebergs, until I read this book. Another reason i found this book very interesting was learning how Haben does all these things.

Nel titolo una frase da questo libro coinvolgente, leggero e intenso, certamente molto utile. Una biografia di una giovane donna con una meravigliosa determinazione, una voglia inarginabile di conoscere, scoprire, mettersi alla prova con dedizione e impegno, sempre divertendosi. Il fatto di essere sorda e cieca diviene un dettaglio, un motivo per gli altri per provare, abbastanza inutilmente, a farla sentire e diventare disabile. Poche volte è stato scritto con così tanta chiarezza che la disabilità è costruita dagli altri, dal contesto, dalle regole, non da una menomazione o una malattia. Brava Haben, Grazie.