I think Mark Drolsbaugh is my fraternal twin from another life.
A few years back, I came across his books, Anything But Silent and Deaf Again (4th Edition)
You see, Mark grew up fitting in well among his friends who could hear. Like me, he amassed an impressive array of social bluffing skills that enabled him to “go with the flow” and appear quite successful in managing day-to-day communications. It wasn’t until both of us made the journey into a community of people who used American Sign Language that we found a “home” that was beautifully tailored for us.
Mark penned a third book, On the Fence, The Hidden World of the Hard of Hearing, a collection of essays. Of course, I’m biased toward that book simply because I contributed to a chapter there titled, “The Best of Both Worlds.” In the book, I share my journey of growing up hard of hearing and becoming deaf.
Be sure to check out Mark’s website: Deaf Culture Online and his Drolz Uncensored section. Mark has recently become the parent of a deaf child and he shares bits and pieces of his journey on the website.
This telented author has generously agreed to give away one of his books to a lucky reader of this blog. Simply leave a comment in the comment section telling Mark a little bit about yourself and let him know which book you’d like to receive if you are chosen as a winner. Be sure to leave your email address (this will not be shown) when filling out the comment section. The winner will be chosen by random using Random.org and contacted via email. The book will be shipped directly to the winner. Comment away!
Update: And the winner is…
Saraj!