6 Deaf Themed Books for Your Summer Reading        

More than 1.5 billion people world-wide are affected by hearing loss. In the United States, 15% of the adult population have trouble hearing. If you are one of these people or know a loved one or friend struggling with hearing loss, the following six books will help you navigate and understand the deaf experience. 

Below you’ll find seven titles and authors of which I provide information about each book. Click on the link to my review or article about the book in Pop’s Blog to help you decide which one interests you. A second link will lead you to a purchase link on Amazon. Happy Summer Reading. 

True Biz by Sara Novic (Fiction)

This book is a wonderful source to learn about Deaf culture and the reaction people have toward hearing loss. We also see how educators view teaching the deaf. One school of thought teaches that Deaf children shouldn’t learn ASL. It exposes deaf children only to English with an expectation they learn to lip read, get a cochlear implant, and be mainstreamed into the hearing population. The other side of the coin suggests a Deaf education where children learn ASL providing them with a language they can easily understand and be able to communicate in. That type of education is offered by River Valley School for the Deaf, the setting for the novel.

True Biz was on the New York Times Bestseller list and is a Reese’s Book Club Pick. 

405 pages

Goodbye, Tchaikovsky by Michael Thal (Fiction)  

Goodbye Tchaikovsky is a coming-of-age novel, focusing on the psychological and moral growth of a young violin virtuoso who wakes up on his twelfth birthday deaf. It’s a poignant tale about David’s journey through his teen years as he navigates the difficulties of being Deaf in a hearing world.

The least expensive route is to purchase this book from the publisher, Royal Fireworks Press. It’s only available in print.

Second Place winner in the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, Young Adult Fiction and Honorable Mention Paris Book Festival. 

136 pages

Deaf Culture Our Way: Anecdotes from the Deaf Community by Samuel Holcomb (Non-Fiction)

Using humorous stories with illustrations, this book is a collection of deaf experiences through personal practical day-to-day information. Many aspects of the deaf world are shown in Deaf Culture Our Way through anecdotes, and deaf experiences with the latest communication technologies, including VRS, videophones, email, and instant messaging. Also provided is classroom material for teachers that can be used as excellent supplemental reading for deaf studies, ASL, or interpreting classes, as well as a springboard for discussions about deaf culture. 

168 pages

The Lip Reader by Michael Thal (Fiction based on a true story) The Paper Angel Press Acquisitions Editor wrote: It’s so vivid, so earnest, so honest, so full of love and luminous intelligence, so lacking in mean spirit even as it treats some of the deepest horrors of life with total clarity and resolution. I’m not ashamed to say that even this much-scarred, stoical woman is weeping freely. The world must have this book.Natalie Soine from Reader’s Favorite gave this 5-star review: The Lip Reader by Michael Thal is well researched and written with a wonderful variety of characters, places, and events. Zhila’s bravery, dedication, and determination are beautifully captured. I especially enjoyed the smooth flow of the story and the constant pace throughout, following the lives of Zhila, her friends, and her family. The novel is well edited and easy to read with vivid descriptions and scenes which make it easy for the reader to form a visual of the story. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable novel, highly recommended.

The Lip Reader was the first place winner in the 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Award Inspirational Fiction.

224 pages

Train Go Sorry: Inside a Deaf World by Leah Hager Cohen (Non-Fiction)

In Train Go Sorry we get a unique perspective of Deaf Culture. Issues handled are the isolation problems deaf students have with their hearing families and how Deaf Culture is transmitted not by the family but by institutes for the deaf. We also get a clear portrait of New York’s Lexington School for the Deaf, deaf history, Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, the only college in the world designed exclusively for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, and the Deaf President Now movement. Cohen discusses educational pedagogy on teaching the deaf such as oralism vs instruction in American Sign Language (ASL).  

I highly recommend Train Go Sorry: Inside a Deaf World to any Deaf person, ASL student, or individual who has a deaf friend or family member. The book is an eye-opener. 

296 pages

A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family (Non-Fiction) by Lou Ann Walker

In her memoir, A Loss for Words, author Lou Ann Walker tells about her Deaf parents making it her job to be the ears and voice for her family. Raised in Indiana during the early 1950s-60s, Walker eloquently writes about a loving family faced by an ignorant public to the problems inherent in deafness. As the oldest daughter of three girls, Walker acted as her parent’s interpreter offering her readers a humorous account of crude and condescending behaviors of family as well as strangers to her parent’s deafness. 

224 pages

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