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!
Comments
12 responses to “Win a Book from Mark Drolsbaugh, A Talented Deaf Writer”
Living in a “gray” HOH world of amibivilence can eventually wear on a person unless they find their place. When they do, it’s as if a whole spectrum of colors you never knew existed burst into colorful prisms around you (i.e. ASL!). I’d love to be a recepient of the book, “On the Fence, Hidden World of Hard of Hearing”! Write on! 🙂
Hi Mark and Karen! I have been meaning to pick up On the Fence to read, and finding this blog gives me a great opportunity to say how much I appreciate your other two books. I have a deaf? hard of hearing? CI using? daughter who defies most efforts to put her into a box. I think you’d get a kick out of her.
Sara in Colorado
Hi Mark and Karen. I think I’ve had Drolz Uncensored in my feed reader for quite a while, great site! I was born hearing and lost my hearing overnight when I was 14. Been declaring myself hoh since then but have had a few Deaf friends and would love to get more involved in Deaf culture, my sign is getting rusty these days. All three of your books sound fantastic. If I win you can pick one for me.
some Deaf Gallaudet students thought i was hearing because I could talk and be understood. I was accepted no matter what. I graduated with wonderful memories I always will cherished. I have given back via Television work, theatre work, and teaching ASL. I hope to be able to help recruit more deaf individuals where I work and for them to feel welcome into the world of hearies.
I would love to read your On the Fence,the Hidden World of the Hard of Hearing…
I’d love a copy of “On The Fence”. I too, live in the hard of hearing world and I’d be interested to see what another person’s perspective of the “world” I live in is. I often say “the best of both worlds” to myself and that quote caught my eye when you described this book.
I would be interested in reading ‘On the Fence’. I’ve been called hard of hearing for years and no one believes I am profoundly deaf. But with my hearing aid and now a CI, I do look and act hard of hearing but deep inside, I don’t feel like I belong in either world. It would be interesting to see what kind of experiences other people wrote about and if I related to any of their stories.
Kris W.
I would love the “On the Fence” book…my daughter is deaf but functions with her hearing aids as hard of hearing. There are so many issues with these kids…a feeling of “where do I belong”…not deaf enough, not hearing….it’s hard on them. I would really like to read his book to see his take on it. Thanks!
As the grandmother of a profoundly deaf child in a family with no previous history of deafness, I am always interested in reading about the life journeys of others.
I have always enjoyed Mark’s articles when I stumbled upon them. It seems I find a paper with his articles, read all I can and a month later get an email saying the paper is shuttIng down! So I am happy to find the website and his books.
I am a late deafened adult who has found that I can really communicate easier in deaf socials than late-deafened socials. That was a surprise to me. But my lipreading skills have never been that great and I don’t find that many Late Deafened Adults that sign.
I have a question though- I wonder if others have had this experience. I have severe vestibular issues. When I see doctors about this (such as at Mayo), I tell them that I don’t care about about my hearing loss (profound on the left, zero hearing on the right), but I would like them to focus their medical efforts on improving my vestibular issues. As SOON as I say I don’t care about my hearing loss, they look at me like I have 5 heads and I know they are thinking I should visit the psych ward. Has this ever happened to anyone else? My husband can see the change in their faces too, so I am not making this up!
I’m the mom of 3 under 10yo, only one of whom is HOH. Dh and me are contantly trying to figure out what he’s experiencing in his life and make the best decisions for him until he is old enough to do that himself.
We would really love to read the book, “On the Fence, Hidden World of Hard of Hearing”.
I am a daughter of deaf parents, a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing, and an interpreter. I became interested in this book when I had mentioned some stuggles that one of my high school students was experiencing. She thought this book might help him through his struggles and help him to realize that he is not alone in his struggles. I have been fortunate to be a part of both worlds and feel blessed. I look forward to reading this book to gain additional insight to the hard of hearing world.
I’ve started reading “Deaf Again” which I definitely love! I recently began a serious study of ASL and the Deaf Community. My daughter has some hearing loss, not enough to function poorly, however she has mentioned struggles which I was not aware of until beginning my study. I want to be able to communicate with her if her hearing gets worse, and I want to be able to understand her frustrations and help in any way possible. Although it is frightening to try and communicate at Deaf Socials, this way, I can understand the other side even if it’s just a fraction. I am generally one of, or the only full hearing person in the room and have to work hard to socialize. The Deaf Community is wonderful and I am encouraging my daughter to continue to socialize with them. She is able to do a good job with her ASL because she has done a serious self study for the last 8 years. If I win the book, I want it for her, to let her know that I love and support her. I would like to give her On the Fence because I think she can relate to a lot of stories in it. Thank you for all you do to share your experiences and talent with not only the Deaf Community, but all of us who are trying to understand it as well.
Sincerely,
mickie