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A review by karnaconverse
True Biz by Sara Nović
Informative and moving story—with teenagers as the main characters—about Deaf culture that touches on a variety of debates including that of school immersion, cochlear implants, cultural differences between ASL and BASL*, and the dynamics within CODA* families AND that also weaves in a historical and a present-day look at ASL and the medical community.
This book does a lot: the story is engaging, the format creative, and at the end of the book, Novic issues a call to action that includes resources for learning ASL and a sobering list of 24 state Deaf campuses that have closed. I was especially taken with her overriding reason for writing:
Deaf and disabled advocates work tirelessly to raise awareness and push back against ableist systems, policies, and cultural norms. But when it comes down to it, there are far more hearing people in the world than there are deaf ones. And their behaviors, needs, and wants dictate what society considers “normal.” Over ninety percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, and only eight percent of those parents ever learn enough ASL to hold a conversation with their child. . . . the hearing world is right now, and often unwittingly, deciding whether Deaf culture and sign language will continue to exist. . . . It is my hope that the characters of True Biz have made a different kind of case for us: that we deserve to exist because we are equally human. Like you we laugh, cry, bleed, have sex, raise families, make mistakes, feel love. There is nothing more universally human than the desire to be understood, and through that, maybe the hearing world will see what we all share and embrace deafness as just one more aspect of what makes us as people interesting, diverse, and strong.
*American Sign Language - Black American Sign Language - Child of Deaf Adults
This book does a lot: the story is engaging, the format creative, and at the end of the book, Novic issues a call to action that includes resources for learning ASL and a sobering list of 24 state Deaf campuses that have closed. I was especially taken with her overriding reason for writing:
Deaf and disabled advocates work tirelessly to raise awareness and push back against ableist systems, policies, and cultural norms. But when it comes down to it, there are far more hearing people in the world than there are deaf ones. And their behaviors, needs, and wants dictate what society considers “normal.” Over ninety percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, and only eight percent of those parents ever learn enough ASL to hold a conversation with their child. . . . the hearing world is right now, and often unwittingly, deciding whether Deaf culture and sign language will continue to exist. . . . It is my hope that the characters of True Biz have made a different kind of case for us: that we deserve to exist because we are equally human. Like you we laugh, cry, bleed, have sex, raise families, make mistakes, feel love. There is nothing more universally human than the desire to be understood, and through that, maybe the hearing world will see what we all share and embrace deafness as just one more aspect of what makes us as people interesting, diverse, and strong.
*American Sign Language - Black American Sign Language - Child of Deaf Adults