Aside from that, it was interesting to hear how Lou Ann felt. I was able to try and put myself into Lou Ann's shoes and really feel how she was affected by everything. I felt like she did a great job at trying to open the eyes of any reader who has not experienced the exact life that she has, and open their minds to an idea of what it is like to be a hearing person in a deaf culture. It showed throughout the story that Lou Ann really loved her parents, but her relationship with them was different than society's norm of a parent to child relationship. .
I appreciated Walker's style of writing and how she was very open and direct. For example, she states, "My parents are deaf. I can hear. And the fact of their deafness has made all the difference. I was able to get a clear understanding of how she felt her life was different than that of a "normal child's. " The book also exposes its readers to many deaf issues like the insensitive treatment that the deaf culture has been faced with by their own families, others, health professionals, and school systems. I found little in the book that frustrated me as did hearing the examples of this kind of treatment. For example, Walker discusses that when she was born "everyone in the delivery room was relieved I was a "normal " baby " after doing a hearing test on her, pointed to their ears, and nodded as they smiled that she wasn't deaf. .
I found it difficult to read how hard it was for her at times, such as in the first chapter of the book when Lou Ann becomes scared and lonely on her first night at Harvard, leaving her dorm to get comfort from her parents at their hotel. Lou Ann tried banging on the door, and slipping a note underneath to let them know she needed them and her attempts to communicate that to them were unsuccessful. I can't imagine the frustration and sadness of a situation like that. You can tell by reading the book, communication between her immediate family was generally just fine, and they were certainly a normal and functional family as any other.
