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We want to send a big thank you to everyone who listened to TIS the Grinch Holiday Podcast. On behalf of everyone on the team, we're so grateful that you've taken this journey with us. Now that you've reached the end of this show, there's another podcast that we think you'll love, and it's called Whose Amazing Life. Here's why the world is full of inspiring people who've achieved unimaginable feats. Some have scaled the tallest mountains. Others have created music beloved by millions of people. Whose Amazing Life is a podcast from Wonder that celebrates these one in a million stories. Each episode walks you through the life's journey of a legend in their field. They could be an athlete, an artist, an explorer, an actor, anyone who made an impact on the world around us. But here's the catch. You don't know who we're describing until the very end of the episode, so it's your job to play along. Whose Amazing Life Is a podcast for the whole family that allows you to spend some time walking in the shoes of legends. Experience the challenges and triumphs they faced in their journeys before anyone knew their name. Listen to the clues and do your best to immerse yourself in the life of someone amazing. I'm about to play you an episode of who's Amazing Life, so stay tuned. Follow who's Amazing Life on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. Wondry plus members can listen to who's Amazing Life early and ad free right now. If you don't already have a Wondry plus membership, you can start your free trial by clicking the link in the episode Description today.

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Wondery from Wondery I'm Virginia Madsen and this is Whose Amazing Life. You've heard of people who changed the course of history, but before they made their mark on the world, they were people like you and me, still figuring out what they wanted to do with their lives. On this episode, you will be that person everyone knows you might be a musician or an athlete, a scientist or a painter. You may know what the person accomplished later in life, but now you can experience everything they faced along the way. From challenges and heartbreak to triumphs and excitement. All the moments that built this person into someone who would change the world. There will be clues to who you are, so pay attention. But only at the end will you find out who you are. So sit back and imagine your amazing life as the Connector. Imagine you're almost six years old, lying beside a small pond behind your house. The snow has finally melted and you're thrilled to be outside. The sun toasts your face as you lie in the grass. The blades tickle the skin on the back of your neck. You dip your hand into the pond, its coolness contrasting with the warmth on your skin. You slap your hand against the surface and droplets splatter over your dress. You throw your arms wide and spin like a top through the yard, faster and faster, until you bump into the big metal thing in the yard. You run your hands over its smooth surface and then reach for the handle. You love the feeling of churning the handle up and down with all your strength. The handle moves slowly, but you know if you continue heaving, something fun will happen. There are splashes on your arms and around your feet. You can feel where the splashes are coming from. So you thrust your mouth under the source of the cool wetness and gulp it down as it pours out. Your dress is soaked, but you don't care. You feel refreshed and full of joy. Suddenly your father's hands grasp your waist and he lifts you off the ground. You feel confused. This isn't what you want. You want to stay where you were. You pull at your father's shirt, but he carries you back to the house. You pummel at him with your hands. You wail. He sets you down in the kitchen. You pound the floor. You. So you kick, but nothing changes. Exhaustion fills your legs, your arms, your head. Tears of frustration roll down your face. Your mother sits down on the floor a few feet away from you. You crawl into her lap and her arms fold around you. She smooths your hair back from your face. You do the same to her. You touch her face, feeling her mouth move under your fingers, and then gently place your hand on her neck, the vibrations of her throat buzzing against your fingertips. You cannot see her and you cannot hear her, and you cannot talk to her. You are deaf, blind and unable to speak. You feel misunderstood and disconnected from the people around you, and you'd give anything for that feeling to change. There's a world that swirls around you and you try to make sense of it. You make shapes with your hands to communicate what you want. Sometimes your family understands you, but most of the time they don't. When visitors come to the house, you feel even more lost and alone. You put your hands on their faces, trying to make sense of the sensations like you do with your parents. Their mouths move too quickly to keep up. Why do they do this? What is happening? Everyone seems to understand each other except for you. There are days when you are possessed by Fury. And you lash out with your body. You push your baby sister. You lock your mom in the pantry and hide the key. You kick your father. Your face gets slick with tears. And when your mother tries to comfort you, you taste the same salty wetness on her skin. If only you could understand the confusing world that churns around you. If only you could make that world understand you. One day, a new visitor arrives. A woman like your mother, but with a heavier step. When she enters the room, she has a suitcase. You can't resist opening it and feeling through her clothing, her books and her shoes. The woman sits down next to you and places something soft in your hands. It's a doll. You run your hands over its hair and its dress. You give it a hug. Suddenly, the woman grabs your wrist. She opens your hand. What is she doing? She puts her fingers into your hand and makes four motions into it, one after the other. The first two motions are different from each other, but the third and the fourth are the same. This is strange. No one else has ever behaved this way with you. You pull away and run from the room, hoping she'll leave soon. But at dinner, she is still there. In fact, she sits right next to you. Every time you try to take a bite, she does those strange motions with her fingers into your hand. The motions are different every time. At least it seems that way. She presses her fingers into your hand again and again. You just want to eat. You run to your room with your new doll, pushing your back against the door so the woman cannot get in. Hopefully she'll take the hint and go away soon. But she's still in your house the next morning. Day after day, she follows you everywhere, doing those strange shapes with her fingers in your hand. All the you run to your father's arms and then your mother's, but they return you to her. You can't escape her week after week. Then one day, she pulls you into the yard. You can smell flowers blooming. She guides you towards something. And then you feel it. It's the metal thing that comes out of the ground. She hands you your mug and then grabs the handle so the cool wetness gushes over your hands. You smile as you feel the drops splashing onto your arms and dance around them. But the woman won't let you play. She shoves her fingers into your wet hand and makes the same five shapes into it over and over and over again. And then you start to make a connection. Those motions of her fingers in your hand. It's what the wetness is called. It's a name, a name for the thing flowing over your hand. The thing you drink, the thing you wash in, the thing in the pond you wade into, holding your father's hands. Those five shapes, W a t e r mean water. You drop your mug in amazement as the water flows over your hands. Then you reach for the woman's hand and press the same five shapes into it. You feel her paws for just a moment. You make those same five shapes into her hand again. And then she grasps both of your hands in hers and hugs you close to her. You can feel her happiness because you feel happy, too. The two of you are understanding each other. But there's one more thing you want to learn the name of. You touch the woman's face gently and then thrust out your hand towards her, your palm facing upward, waiting to learn. She spells seven letters into your hand. T e a C H e R. Teacher. For the rest of the day, you grab objects and people and Teacher names them into your hand and you name them back. After so many years of not being understood, you don't want to stop. You learn. The tall thing you like to climb is a t r e e tree, and the rough part is b a r k bark G r a s s grass is what tickles beneath your f e e t feet. And there is w a t e r water everywhere, coming from your eyes, the pump in your mug and in the p o n d pond. Lying in bed that night, you can feel it. Teacher has given you a beautiful gift, a way for you to finally, truly connect with other people in the world. Your body might be tired, but your soul is more awake than ever. For the next three years, Teacher never leaves you. She spells into your hand endlessly, and you soak up her words and spell them back. Soon you can have a real conversation with her. And when Teacher is by your side to help, you can have conversations with other people, too. Teacher also shows you how to read and write in Braille. It's a special kind of writing composed of raised dots. You can read with the tips of your fingers. You learn to write with a pencil and with a typewriter. You love writing letters, and you love receiving them even more. But most of all, you love the magic of stories and books. You and Teacher lie on the grass for hours with her hand in yours, spelling out the words on the pages. You lose yourself in stories about fantastical worlds and amazing people. You wonder about everything. Could you live among the fairies? Could you be one of Tom Sawyer's friends and help paint his Fence. Sometimes Teacher gives you books written in Braille so that you can dive into these worlds and characters by yourself. But there is another thing that you are determined to learn. You think back to when you were younger, how you would touch people's faces and feel their mouths moving and wonder what they were doing. You're happy that you've learned a fingerspell. But now there's another way that you want to be understood. Just a few months later, you are perched excitedly on the edge of a big leather chair in the office of a woman named Square. S A R A H. Sarah. She is the principal of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf, and she is going to teach you to speak. Sarah places your hand on her face. She places your thumb against her throat, your index finger on her lips, and spread your other fingers across her cheekbone and begins to make the sound of the letter G. Through your fingers, you can feel how her lips, throat, and face move. In certain ways, you do your best to copy what she's doing. It seems so overwhelming. But you keep trying. And soon, with Sarah's help, you speak your first sentence ever. It is warm. You spend every waking hour learning to say the words with your mouth that you could only express with your hands before. In just a few years, you've learned so much. To spell, to read, to write, to speak. You used to feel isolated from the world, certain you'd never have things others take for granted, like making true friends or sharing opinions or even finding love. But the more you learn, the more connected you feel, the more you understand, and the more people understand you. You're hungry to keep learning. The door to knowledge is finally open, and you're not going to let it shut. There's one place where your desire to grow even smarter can truly be satisfied. College. But there's a problem. No deaf and blind person has ever graduated from college before. If you keep working and learning and connecting, is it possible that you could be the first? You are 14 years old and you are at a party with Teacher. Of course. Perfume and cigar smoke fill your nose. The room is crowded with people. The smooth silks of women's dresses and the scratchy wool of men's jackets brush against you. You still need Teacher's help. Most people have never communicated with someone who expresses themselves quite like you do. Your voice sounds different from other people's. You. Your hand motions can leave others puzzled. Teacher translates in both directions, and with each exchange, you know that the next time you converse with that same person, it'll be a little easier you feel teacher's hand on your shoulder. You turn and place your hands on her face so that you can feel her speak. There's someone standing here who would like to meet you. This is Samuel Clemens. You couldn't be more excited. Samuel Clemens is one of your favorite authors who's more famously known as Mark Twain. The man who has given you Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn and your favorite Becky Thatcher, wants to meet you. You put your fingers on Mr. Twain's mouth and throat. You are the same age as my daughter. You have learned to read lips with your hands, and you talk back to him with your voice and teacher's help. I would like to meet her someday. You will. He tells you stories that make you giggle. Unlike other people, Mr. Twain never treats you like you're odd or fragile. He treats you as someone who has a lot of challenges and will find her way through them. You become fast friends. Can I tell you my dream, Mr. Twain? Of course you can. I warn you, everyone thinks I'm crazy. Crazy dreams can be the best dreams. You take a deep breath and say it. I want to go to college. And not just any college. You tell Mr. Twain. You want to go to Radcliffe, the most prestigious college for women in the whole country. You anxiously wait for his response. What an excellent, excellent idea. Mark Twain becomes your best friend and champion. He knows college is expensive, so he writes to a wealthy friend to share your story and ask if she'd help pay for your education. And she does. Before you can attend Radcliffe, you must pass an entrance exam that will test your knowledge in Latin, Greek, English, math, and geography. Teacher helps you study and even fingerspells entire books for you that aren't available in Braille. Throughout high school, you work hard and gain mastery in so many new subjects. But you grow more and more tense as the date for the college exams approaches. Not only do you want to pass the exam so you can go to Radcliffe, you want to show the world that deaf, blind people belong in college just as much as anyone else. It's not long before your exams to get into Radcliffe. You are 19 years old. You take a break from studying to sit outside to relax. Teacher comes to sit next to you. She takes your hand and begins fingerspelling. I just received a letter from the exam board at Radcliffe. They say that when you are taking the exam, they will not allow you to have advantages over the other students. I'm not asking for advantages during the exam. I just need you to read the questions and spell them into my hand. And I need a typewriter to write my answers. They will let you use the typewriter, but they will not let me read the questions to you. They will bring in someone else to do it. Your heart drops, but you continue the conversation, using your hands to express your dismay. Someone who can fingerspell as well as you do. With your hand on her face, you feel your teacher shake her head. No strangers, but why do they think we'll cheat? Teacher nods her head yes. Your mind spins. How could they think so poorly of you and teacher? How will you have enough time to answer all the questions if this person can't fingerspell? Teacher rubs your back to calm you. I wish they understood you as I do. But what I do understand is you can do this. It's the day of the exam, the day you have prepared so hard for. But you are in a room with a professor who does not fingerspell as easily and quickly as teacher. The exam has been translated into Braille, but some of the math questions weren't translated correctly. It's so confusing. You still have the same time limit as the other students. Can you get this done in time? You type your answers as quickly as possible, but in order to double check your work, you have to wait for the professor to slowly, meticulously translate your words on the page back to you. Only then can you review your answers and make changes. It's a grueling, tedious process, and your frustration is growing stronger every second. You want to throw yourself on the floor the same way you did as a child. You're furious that the people running the exam refuse to see you as you are and understand your needs. If only you were like everyone else, this wouldn't be so hard. You take a deep breath. You are not like everyone else. You're you. You've overcome so much already, and you can overcome this too slowly. You feel the heat leave your face, and your thoughts come back into focus. You reposition your hands on the typewriter keys and get back to work. You're determined to beat this test. And when you finally get the exam results, teacher spells the news into your hand. Congratulations. You are going to college. You are standing alone at the edge of a pond on the campus of Radcliffe, hoping the night air will soothe you. Your first days at the college have been wonderful. You thrill at the smell of new books being cracked open. You relish the feel of feet pounding the halls as fellow students move from class to class. But it's harder than you thought it would be. You long to go on walks and gossip with your New friends, some of whom have even learned to fingerspell. But you just don't have time, even with teachers. Help. The way you learn takes longer than the other students. You are overwhelmed by all you cannot access or do without help. You feel your way to a canoe at the edge of the shore. You push it into the water and hop inside as it glides across the smooth surface. The darkness might hinder others, but not you. You smell the scent of lilacs and feel the moon's glow on your face. You paddle for a while and then put down the oar, letting your fingers trail through the water, grazing the back of a fish here and there. Your heart calms. Your head clears. It comes to you. You have gifts that others don't have. You experience the world in a unique way. Your fingers allow you to explore art and feel music and read books and connect with friends and understand their emotions. You've faced obstacles most people could never understand. You remember that you've overcome them. As you feel the water flowing between your fingers, you decide to keep working to accomplish all of your goals. And accomplish your goals is exactly what you do. After four years of classes, you graduate from Radcliffe with some of the highest grades in your class. In an era where few women even get to go to college, you become the first deaf blind person ever to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. You know you could not have done this without the help of so many your parents, Mark Twain, who arranged for your education to be paid for, and, of course, teacher. After graduation, you head out into the world, and the world welcomes you. Word of your accomplishments has spread, and you have become something of a celebrity. As the years pass, you use your celebrity to fight for the rights of people who are blind and deaf. You advocate for women's right to vote, civil rights, and the rights of workers. You even spread the word that washing the eyes of every newborn with a special solution can prevent blindness, sparing countless children the difficulties of being unable to see. And then, when you're 33 years old, you're invited to do something you've never done before. You are asked to give a speech to an audience in your own voice. It's 1913. You are standing in the wings of an auditorium, your fingers toying with the velvet curtain. Even from here, you can feel the heat of the bright lights illuminating the podium where you will give your speech. You spell what you're thinking into teacher's hand. What if they don't like what I say? They don't have to like what you say. All they have to do is listen. What if they cannot understand me? I will make sure they do. You step onto the stage in front of hundreds of people. You walk to the podium and begin to speak. No one of us can do anything alone. We are bound together. We live by and for each other. We are all blind and deaf until our eyes are open to our fellow men. As you finish, you rest your hands on the podium and feel it begin to shake and under your feet the wooden stage trembles too. You realize it's because of the applause ricocheting through the room, the audience stamping their feet in support of what you said. You've achieved one of your greatest dreams ever to be heard. You travel the world advocating for the rights of the blind and deaf through speeches, books and other methods of communication. Alongside your degree from Radcliffe, you are given honorary degrees from colleges all over the globe. You speak out for the rights of African Americans and women and are a founder of the aclu, the American Civil Liberties Union. Together with your teacher, Annie Sullivan, you work for the American foundation of the Blind. The Post Office even issues a special stamp illustrated with a portrait of you and Annie side by side. But most of all, you show the world that limitations can be overcome. In one of your autobiographies, you explain, I do not object to harsh criticism so long as I am treated like a human being with a mind of her own. I observe, I feel, I think, I imagine you are Helen Keller from Wondery. This is who's Amazing Life this was our last episode for this season, but we'll be back in the fall with more great stories. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details. While we can't know exactly what was said, we use many sources when researching our stories, including biographies, documentaries, articles, and interviews. If you'd like to learn more about Helen Keller, we recommend her autobiography, the Story of My Life. And for resources on deafblindness, visit nationaldb.org I'm your host, Virginia Madsen. This episode was written by Jennifer Maisel, editing by Alyssa Adams. Jamie Perlman is our consultant. Sound design by Jamie Cooper. Additional audio assistance is by Sergio Enriquez, produced by Matt Almos and Jennifer Klein. Our coordinating producer is Matt Gant. Tanja Thigpeng is our managing producer. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer, Beckman, Stephanie Jens and Marshall Louie for Wondery.