Today’s New York Times has a fine tribute to Martha Mason.

Ever since the 1940s, when she was a girl in a small Southern town, Martha Mason dreamed of being a writer. But it was not till nearly half a century later, with the aid of a voice-activated computer, that she could begin setting a memoir down on paper.

Published in 2003, Ms. Mason’s memoir, “Breath,” is not well known outside the Southeast, or perhaps even outside North Carolina, where she was born, grew up and died. It was published by a small regional house, Down Home Press, and was not widely reviewed. But the truly significant thing is that the book was written at all.

Ms. Mason died on Monday at her home in Lattimore, N.C. She was 71 and had lived for more than 60 years in an iron lung.

Follow the link here for a compelling story about how she managed to have an intellectual life and relationships when so much was taken from her. Not feel-good and inspirational– more like humbling.

Computers and the Internet opened the world to a woman whose mind was active though her body was confined her whole life. She pushed the limits of human achievement–a victory of the spirit.