About this episode

The episode tells the story of Mary Gillespie, who became deaf-blind and now volunteers at the Braille Institute in Los Angeles.

We hear the story of Mary Gillespie, a woman born with normal hearing and vision, but who developed several illnesses starting at age ten. Gradually, she became deaf-blind. Now living in Los Angeles, Mary is a regular volunteer at the Braille Institute, where we recorded this remarkable episode of Humankind. To see additional resources and our other programs, please visit humanmedia.org . Humankind specials are heard on NPR and PRX member-stations, in association with GBH Boston.

People in this episode

Host: David Freudberg

Guest: Mary Gillespie

Topics covered

• deaf-blindness
• personal story
• volunteering
• illness
• resilience

Keywords

• deaf-blind
• Mary Gillespie
• Braille Institute
• volunteering
• personal journey
• resilience
• NPR

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Braille Institute, Humankind, NPR, PRX, GBH Boston

Places: Los Angeles

More episodes of Humankind on Public Radio

• Generous Giving · June 11, 2026 · 29 min
• Culture of Distraction · May 28, 2026 · 29 min
• Aging in Community, Pt4 · May 21, 2026 · 25 min
• Ahead of His Time, Charles Sumner, Pt2 · May 18, 2026 · 28 min
• Aging in Community, Pt3 · May 14, 2026 · 29 min
• Ahead of His Time: The Story of Charles Sumner, Pt1 · May 11, 2026 · 27 min

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