95% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up
The Story of My Life (1903), Ch. 6 — the passage following the famous water-pump breakthrough with Anne Sullivan.
Sources checked
en.wikiquote.orgChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 20 August 2026Wikiquote Sourced section, named work
gutenberg.orgChecked using claude-fable-5, 21 August 2026The Story of My Life (1903), ch. VI opening sentence — verbatim in primary text on Project Gutenberg