Helen Keller is a surprisingly good writer. The interesting thing is that she is of her time -- she does not write like a modern writer would. She says things that no modern writer would say, or says things in a way that take a while to unpack. There is a section where she talks of her disabilities and her mental facilities, and it takes a while to realize that she's saying that she'd rather be blind and deaf than stupid. And then starts talking about people who don't get the kind hint to stop asking her.

At the same time, there are fascinating questions about the "no-mind" that she experienced as a child without access to language. Did she really have no apprehension or planning at all? What about empathy -- did she know if her mother was in pain, and try to fix it? Her knowledge of herself here is vague, and part of it is that she absorbed language (and the mental imagery surrounding language, involving sight and sound) to such an extent that she can't put it aside and see herself as she was.

It's a short book, really a series of essays, and free on Amazon Kindle. Recommended.