A Gift from Stephen Curry and a Lesson on Braille

Stephen Curry sent me a card! And a hoodie! I’m thrilled my book, Haben The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law, is in your book club! Thank you, Stephen! Can we also talk about sending a blind author a card without braille?

In the photo I’m holding a card that says, “Haben – We are honored to be a part of sharing “Haben” with the world. As a token of our excitement, we wanted to send you a little gift. Welcome to the Underrated family. #StayUnderrated (Stephen Curry’s signature).”

I can take a picture with my phone and have an app read it to me. But I love paper braille. It’s truly underrated. A slate & stylus, a Perkins, an embosser, or one of the braille companies could put braille on a card.

Because I was afraid of seeming disrespectful, I grew up just saying thank you to gift-givers who overlooked my disability. A gift, accessible or not, is still a gift. But I now know it’s possible to express gratitude while also teaching someone about accessibility.