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Helen Keller's Teacher - https://www.amazon.com/Helen-Kellers-Teacher/dp/B00411LE6S/r...

I can't remember if I read this in 2016 or late 2015, but it's the best book you're not going to see on a recommendation list in one of these threads.

It's for children, and it tells the story of a little girl who catches a disease largely forgotten in the first world and loses her eyesight, then is sent to to the literal poor house as a child. I don't want to spoil too much, but the thing that makes this book so good is that it tells a story that is deeply deeply tragic in language that is plain and simple so that a small child can understand it. Taking this in contrast to the sheer horror of what the protagonist is experiencing makes it a harrowing spiritual experience.

I found it volunteering for a booth giving away books to kids at an event. The line got slow and I didn't have anything to distract myself with, so I rummaged through the books and picked out something that looked interesting. The booth didn't get much work out of me after that because I couldn't put it down, reading it all day and into the night until I was finished.

I'd recommend it to anybody, especially people who like to reflect on the bad old world we've largely escaped from.



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