A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Kindle Edition
 
   
Sell Back Your Copy
For a $0.50 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family
 
 
Start reading A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family [Paperback]

Lou Ann Walker (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

List Price: $13.99
Price: $10.98 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $3.01 (22%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it delivered Monday, January 30? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition --  
Hardcover --  
Paperback $10.98  

Book Description

September 16, 1987

From the time she was a toddler, Lou Ann Walker was the ears and voice for her deaf parents. Their family life was warm and loving, but outside the home, they faced a world that misunderstood and often rejected them.


Frequently Bought Together

A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family + Inside Deaf Culture + Alandra's Lilacs: The Story of a Mother and Her Deaf Daughter
Price For All Three: $35.87

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together
  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Inside Deaf Culture $11.55

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Alandra's Lilacs: The Story of a Mother and Her Deaf Daughter $13.34

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is much more of a story than the subtitle suggests, beautifully written and deeply affecting. Born in the Midwest in 1952, Walker is one of three hearing daughters of Gale and Doris Jean Walker, both deafened as babies by illnesses. As the oldest child, the author served as her parents' "interpreter," dealing with outsiders. There is humor in her recollections but nothing lighthearted in accounts of crude or condescending reactions to her father and mother from indifferent people. Walker is candid in detailing her own frustrations and the burdens of life with the deaf. Having graduated from Harvard, she eagerly went her own way, establishing a writing career in New York, but she reunites frequently with the family in a home warm with love and shared memories. The reader says a fervent amen when the author declares, "I'd seen plenty of families where there was more communication and less love."
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Readers will come away from this book informed, deeply moved and full of admiration for Walker's marvelous parents." -- -- People

Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial (September 16, 1987)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060914254
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060914257
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
5 star:
 (17)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A true story of a CODA, November 7, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family (Paperback)
As a child of Deaf adults (CODA), I found this book to be a mirror of my upbringing. Ms. Walker's stories of negotiating the hearing world for her parents are right on. Anyone who wants to know what growing up hearing in a Deaf world was like MUST read this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Historical Perspective, September 5, 2000
By 
Anna Cochran (Corpus Christi, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family (Paperback)
I was assigned to read this book while taking an ASL class (American Sign Language). Usually, the books that are assigned aren't of the biggest interest to me, but in this case, it was well worth my time. I think that it is a great insight into the historical and present day happenings that effect the daily lives of those who are members of the Deaf Culture. I thought the book was helpful in understanding a small aspect of a world I know that I will never completely understand.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for anyone interested in Deaf people or culture., August 8, 1998
This review is from: A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family (Paperback)
Walker's account of her relationship with her Deaf parents, the Deaf community, and by extension herself, is a touching, poignant and well-balanced treatement of a very important topic. It is a brave account, at once respectful of her parents and all Deaf people and at the same time unblinking in its honest approach to Deaf culture and the paternalism of many hearing people. Not only are readers treated to a portrait of a loving family, they come away with an in-depth understanding of Deaf people, their position as "other" in a dominant hearing culture, and the importance of the norms and language of that culture. Moreover, readers come away understanding a relatively unknown and unique group of people: CODAs, hearing children of Deaf adults.

Walker's first person account will be interesting for readers unfamiliar with deafness and deaf culture. She carefully weaves her experiences as a child into her adult life in ways that are important for anyone. Th! ese experiences, however, are exceedingly important for those raised in the unique circumstances of being the hearing children of deaf adults.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the subject of Deaf peole. It is a thoughtful, comprehensive, and brave treatment written in a delightful, honest, easy-to-read style.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Mom and Dad drove me out to Harvard the fall I trans. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
deaf kids, deaf friends, deaf school, deaf people, deaf world, deaf parents
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Big Willie, Doris Jean, Ball State, Grandpa Wells, Lou Ann, Helen Keller, Aunt Margaret, Miss Pitman, Nellie May, Virgin Mary, Grandpa Walker, Christmas Eve, Code of Ethics, Miss Thomas, Puerto Rico, South Bronx, Thanksgiving Day
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:




What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject