WHAT IS VISIBLE

Joanne Howarth narrates this fictionalized account of the life of Laura Bridgman, who lost all of her senses except touch at the age of 2. She lived as the most prominent student at the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston for the most of nineteenth century. Howarth deftly manages the narrative voices of Laura; Dr. Howe, the head of the school; his wife, Julia Ward Howe (who wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"); and Laura's teacher, Sarah. She draws a vivid picture of Laura, with an impatient, often petulant, tone, particularly when she's young, which strongly contrasts with Dr. Howe's impervious, patriarchal manner. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2014]