"With candor, insight, and considerable
charm and wit, Gerald Shea has explored
the little-known world of the partially
deaf, a world of confused language and
identity.”
—Andrew Solomon, author of
Far from the Tree
Much has been written about the profoundly deaf, but the lives of the nearly 30 million partially deaf in the United States today remain hidden. Song without Words: Discovering My Deafness Halfway Through Life tells the astonishing story of a man who, at the age of thirty-four, discovered that he had been deaf since childhood, yet somehow had managed to navigate his way through Andover, Yale, and Columbia Law School, and to establish a prestigious international legal career.
Gerald Shea’s witty and candid memoir reveals how he compensated for his deafness—through sheer determination and an amazing ability to translate the melody of vowels. His experience gives fascinating new insight into the nature and significance of language, the meaning of deafness, the fierce controversy between advocates of signing and of oral education, and the longing for full communication that unites us all.
