The book, "A Loss for Words," is the autobiography of Lou Ann Walker, the hearing daughter of two deaf parents. Lou Ann is the youngest of three sisters, all of whom are fluent in sign language. "A Loss for Words" is a very personal account of the blessings and hardships she experienced during her childhood. Walker describes her frustration and embarrassment of having parents who were unable to hear. Being a hearing person in a world submerged in the deaf culture could be very difficult; it was a place that she could never fully understand; "the deaf, their deaf culture, their deaf friends, and their own sign language - it is something separate, something I can never really know, but I am intimate with" (Walker, Ch. 2). "A Loss for Words" is full of beautifully written, candid moments, as when Walker admits that there were times she resented her parents for being deaf. the fact that her parents couldn't hear. Just as anyone would, Lou Ann found it difficult to fit into the close nit deaf culture. .
A common difficulty it seemed for Lou Ann, was having to deal with societies views of her parents, and comments that were made to her from others about her deaf parents as if there was something wrong with them. People would say things to her like "Howard told me your parents are deaf on dumb " (Walker, Ch.1). Comments like this didn't help how Lou Ann felt, but she seemed to ignore them. Lou Ann also strived to make sure her parents didn't know any of the nasty things people would say or do because they were deaf. Lou Ann states "I was an unfaithful go-between. I could never bring myself to tell Mom and Dad about the garage mechanic who refused to serve them because they were deaf, or kids at school who made obscene gestures, mocking or sign language. " .
I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it difficult to hear the kinds of things some people are capable of doing or saying to people that are so wrong and unkind.