An excellent book on strategies for living well with hearing loss. When I read this I was well into my journey and had already figured out a lot of the strategies they talked about but what I really valued in this book was the author’s persistent encouragement to be open about your loss and about finding solutions together with your loved ones to keep you both communicating effectively. I remember reading parts of this book to my best friend and it opened up a beautiful open dialogue for us. I recommend this book for you and for your loved ones.
This is a wonderful book about deafness, Deaf culture and the beauty of American Sign Language. Andrea Arrett from the Plain Read says “Sacks is a profoundly wise observer…Anyone interested in language, the mysteries of the brain, or the resilience of human nature will find Seeing Voices fascinating and richly rewarding.”
I read this book early in my journey and thank goodness because it gave me a vision of how my life could maintain its richness and how I could become an excellent listener despite my hearing loss. Jennifer Pastiloff grew up without anyone noticing that she was losing her hearing. Because of this she had to use all of her resources and became a skilled lip reader and very intentional listener. She wrote this very rich and best selling book and now leads women’s workshops and speaks internationally. She sees her loss of hearing as a huge part of what has made her life and work meaningful. Reading this book gave me so much hope!
This book had absolutely nothing to do with hearing loss. It is a memoir written by an Auschwitz survivor whose life trajectory took her to the depths of horror that I can’t even imagine. At the time of publishing (2017) she was a clinical psychologist who worked with people to transform real life suffering into freedom and growth. It is a book about the healing potential of CHOICE. I found this book incredibly inspiring while in the depths of my grief over losing my hearing.
Honestly I would recommend any book written by Tara Brach, along with her talks and meditations found on www.TaraBrach.com. She is a leading Buddhist teacher and psychologist and her teachings have been the foundation for my working toward letting go of suffering over the loss of my hearing and leaning into acceptance of what is.