I published my very first essay in the New York Times! The essay appears in the Times’ special edition celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act: “What the A.D.A. Means to Me.” Today Hachette Book Group is releasing the paperback version of my book, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law. [...]
On Saturday Seeing Eye dog Mylo, Gordon, and I explored a new Bay Area neighborhood with woodsy trail-like sidewalks. The sun slid past the horizon as we made our way back to the car. Gordon walked on my right, swinging a flashlight. Mylo moved ahead on my left, guiding with his usual confidence. Then Gordon’s [...]
As we stay home and practice physical distancing, there is something we can do to help protect our ability to fly with our dogs in the future. The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed adding new restrictions for service dogs traveling on airplanes, chipping away at the freedoms advocates fought for decades to protect. My [...]
We received another ray of hope this week. On March 25 Netflix released Crip Camp, a documentary that dives into the wild lives of disabled teens who grapple with isolation, find love at a summer camp, build community, and grow into fierce advocates for equality. Their joyous laughter, their tenacity, their creative ways of supporting [...]
On Monday January 27, host Alex Trebek presented this clue on Jeopardy! Heather Nelson, a math teacher from Lake Oswego, Oregon, responded immediately. “What is Harvard?” The TV screen showed a photo of me with my first guide dog Maxine. She and I shared many walks through Lake Oswego when we lived in Portland. Congratulations, [...]
The Today Show featured my book on Monday, and the video of my interview is now online. For an in-depth review, The Wall Street Journal published this excellent piece on my book and work. And there’s more! The New York Times’ list of New and Noteworthy releases included my book! This terrific taste in books [...]
I’m excited for a future where accessible self-driving cars are a reality. People with disabilities stand to benefit the most from self-driving cars, but developers are not making accessibility enough of a priority. Waiting until a product is “finished” to start thinking about accessibility is like completing construction of a skyscraper and then tearing part [...]
After writing, editing, and rewriting for over two years, I’m thrilled to bring this book into the world. Publishers Weekly, the insider’s guide to the book world, released an enthusiastic review: “With wit and passion, Haben, a disability rights lawyer, public speaker, and the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law, takes readers through [...]
Celebrating the 210th birthday of Louis Braille, a brilliant teacher who developed a tactile reading system. Blind children and adults learned to uncover the treasure trove of knowledge stored in books through our fingers. We continued innovating, and now we also have digital braille to read articles, websites, & apps. Happy birthday, Louis Braille!
Surfing as a Deafblind person feels like I’m alone with the ocean. The exhilaration of connecting with such a powerful force of nature is unlike anything else I’ve experienced. My whole body listens to the ocean through the board, constantly adjusting as it tilts and sways. I can’t see where the ocean takes me, but [...]
