Book Review: Haben – The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Girma

Thank you to Jonathan Ball Publishers for this copy for an honest review.

This was such a powerful, and inspirational memoir to read. She told these stories from her childhood up till the moment that relayed the tagline of her book – being the first deaf-blind woman to graduate Harvard. Although I would have enjoyed a little bit of more information regarding her application process, funding, the struggles she endured to get in as a deaf-blind woman, applying for summer work, the advocacy she did to ensure access for all persons of disability, right up to her graduation.

Disability is not something an individual overcomes. I’m still disabled. I’m still Deaf blind. People with disabilities are successful when we develop alternative techniques and our communities choose inclusion.

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She shares simple truths and she offers us a window for others to see through her life. These are some of the experiences that stood out for me:

She and her parents went through two different wars: her parents experienced the 30 year fight for Eritrean independence from Ethiopia. She says “I can feel the similarities between their struggles with war and loss, and my struggles as a Deaf-blind girl in a sighted, hearing world. My parents found a way through injustice, and I will too.” She shares some of the struggles of living in a sighted, hearing world and she’s had to navigate around this world not designed for a deaf-blind woman.
She was also self-reflective and sort of called herself out whenever she caught herself excluding herself. I enjoyed how she was accepting of her own weaknesses. In one situation she mentioned that “by focusing all my energy on proving my fearlessness, framing the situation as me-against-them, I perpetuated and guaranteed my own exclusion.”
She ensured that she lives her life to the full and not allow her disability to exclude her from doing anything that anyone with sight or hearing can do. I enjoyed her sharing her meeting with former President Barack Obama and vice-president Joe Biden, it was a heartwarming experience and gave me all the feels. Through her learning to salsa dance, she uses her strongest ability – to feel. She really makes the reader feel everything she goes through.
Her parents wanted a normal life for her. When she tells them she will be going to build a school in Mali – naturally, their fear for her safety. She tells them that “You’ve been to villages in Africa and you survived just fine. If you can do it, I can do it.” I truly admired her bravery and determination and how she just didn’t want to live but to “live a life of adventures.”
She was able to respect the local customs of the Malian people. And she humbled herself and asked for help even though “asking for help feels like losing control of a situation.”
Her advocacy work made me realize that access for the disabled is access for all people. She was determined to make people aware that the community is responsible to create an environment that is free from social, physical and digital barriers.
Her positive outlook on life is awe-inspiring. Lastly, I loved her sense of humour. She also was able to make jokes with the President of the USA. I liked this about her. She believes that “humour draws people in, and it paves the way for meaningful connections”.

This is one memoir I would suggest to anyone who would want to enjoy a well-written book, filled with encouragement and really seeing the world through someone else’s experiences. I learnt a lot about what it really means to be deaf-blind. It also killed some of the assumptions I had about being deaf-blind. Haben also reads the book for the audio version of the book, I’m not into audio books though so I will leave it to those who enjoy that form of reading.