Haben follows the true story of Harvard’s first Deafblind student, Haben Girma. The child of Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants, she was faced with the paradoxical task of living up to her parents unimaginable bravery while also being sheltered by them because of her “disability”.

The book follows Girma from a young child visiting her grandparents in Eritrea to the intelligent, confident and independent young law student she becomes. From disputing the notion that “blind people can’t make PB&Js” to suing Scribd, the largest digital library platform, for excluding blind readers from its services, she proves to the readers and the world that it’s not disabilities that hold us back; it’s society’s treatment of them.

Bite-sized chapters give us insightful and poignant glimpses into her life, all aptly-named and each chronicling a different challenge that she had to overcome. Together, the story reads more like fiction than a traditional memoir. It is disappointing that much of the story feels like a “them versus us” narrative as the author, early on in the book, warns of the consequences of such a mindset. The author, herself, holds prejudices against abled-people and how they must view the disabled community. However, she is honest and open about her own flaws. Although the writing seemed familiar, the story was not. It was an interesting, entertaining, and insightful gateway into the blind, deaf, and disabled community that makes up a large population of America and the world.