We Learned to Listen

We Learned to Listen features the personal stories of nine individuals who are deaf and their drive to become part of a "hearing" world. Through each author's unique experiences, readers discover the triumphs and struggles of learning to listen, talk and find their own definitions of success. Both inspiring and motivating, We Learned to Listen offers an in-depth view of what it means to live every day with hearing loss.

From the back cover:

Hearing, listening and speaking are taken for granted by most people...but not my us.

Eight of us were born deaf. One of us became deaf after having meningitis.

"We Learned to Listen" chronicles our lives.

Not long ago, a diagnosis of deafness was considered a lifetime of silence and a loss of life's abundant opportunities.

Can you imagine the dashed hopes, shattered dreams and lingering despair of our parents when faced with such a bleak future for us?

"We Learned to Listen" is a tribute to them. They embraced the seemingly impossible and armed themselves with strength, education and perseverance. They thought positively about our lives and they helped us to learn to speak for ourselves.

"We Learned to Listen" is really about the work of our parents, and the support of our families and the professionals who helped us along the way. Their love, determination and dedication prepared us to achieve the personal and professional potential beyond what most people thought possible.

We can hear you. We can listen to you. We can speak with you.