booksbecreads's review
4.0
"I’m tired of being taken for granted. I want people to know how hard I’ve worked – and how hard most people with disabilities have to work – to get where I am"
This book spoke with me, and at times I could relate all too well and in others it was hard to not overlay my experiences with a chronic illness which weren't necessarily the same because being deaf is different than being diabetic (the cochlear implant vs the insulin pump for example). More books like to be written by more people and I loved the overlaying of history to reflect how much experience for deaf people had and had not changed
This book spoke with me, and at times I could relate all too well and in others it was hard to not overlay my experiences with a chronic illness which weren't necessarily the same because being deaf is different than being diabetic (the cochlear implant vs the insulin pump for example). More books like to be written by more people and I loved the overlaying of history to reflect how much experience for deaf people had and had not changed
thisgirl_writes's review against another edition
5.0
What a brilliant piece of writing, and a moving exploration of how Jessica White discovered her own disability pride. I'm recommending it to all my friends!
slightfawn's review against another edition
i made the executive decision to finish this when the author compared deaf people assimilating into the hearing world to aboriginal ppl being colonised & forced to assimilate into white society, the connection being languages stolen. the only engagement the author had with the history of this country was as preamble to making this point. it really diminishes both sides of this experience.
the absolute lack of self awareness of the author’s uninterrogated whiteness was really starkly startling.
the absolute lack of self awareness of the author’s uninterrogated whiteness was really starkly startling.
rnmcfarlane's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
melanie_page's review
4.0
I was worried that I found Hearing Maud interesting only because I could relate, but by comparing the societies into which Jessica White and Maud must fit, the author brings a disability rights angle to her hybrid book, elevating it into more than me nodding along in recognition.
Check out the entire review at Grab the Lapels.
Check out the entire review at Grab the Lapels.
kali's review
5.0
Deeply personal, entwined with Jessica White's discovery of Rosa Praed's writing and her deaf daughter Maud who was raised to 'fit in' with the mainstream, to lipread rather than sign. White finds parallels with her own upbringing and the expectations placed on her, with the result of a profound loneliness and exclusion from social life. I know Jessica in real life, but READING her is really LISTENING to her, and she makes a strong case for the power of words, writing, and the ability to express oneself. I reflected on children and adults with Autism, who I think face similar issues of invisible disabilities and inability to be heard and express themselves, to learn the rules that people around them seem to inherently understand, and the need to mask or pretend to 'normalcy' to get by.
claresmlr's review
Review for Readings bookshop:
https://www.readings.com.au/products/27509351/hearing-maud-a-journey-for-a-voice
https://www.readings.com.au/products/27509351/hearing-maud-a-journey-for-a-voice
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