When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes [Hardcover]

Philip Zazove (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Zazove, deaf since birth, uses a bed-shaking device each morning to wake up. This inspiring first-person narrative tells how he overcame his handicap to establish a thriving practice and a family first in Utah, and eventually in Michigan. Zazove attended Rutgers Medical School and earned his M.D. degree from Washington University. Although he seems to have compensated admirably for his disability, Zazove conveys his apprehensions and notes the constant efforts needed to understand others, particularly professors, patients and children who are unaware of his need to read lips. He portrays his patients--including some amusing eccentrics--vividly. However, unnecessary details, and distractingly verbatim dialogues diminish the impact of the memoir.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this chatty, appealing memoir (whose title refers to the mechanical device that wakes the author up for phone calls or as an alarm clock), Dr. Zazove, who is deaf, recounts how he overcame the odds and realized a lifelong dream to become a family doctor by gaining entrance to medical school--and then completing his M.D. Zazove believes that his deafness has contributed to his humanity, leading him into family practice and helping him to focus on individual patients. This personal account of his struggles reveals his inspiration, dedication, and warmth. For all collections.
- Emily Ferren, Carroll Cty. P.L., Westminster, Md.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 295 pages
• Publisher: Gallaudet University Press; 1 edition (November 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563680246
• ISBN-13: 978-1563680243
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,615,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The biography of a deaf doctor, August 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes (Hardcover)

Excellent autobiography & well worth reading. I should explain here that I prefer biographies that do not indulge in psychoanalysis of the biographee. For this reason, I often prefer those that are written in first person & those that are written by the person himself/herself.

Zazove does an excellent job. His writing is very clear & flows well. His life story is interesting, if for no other reason than to dispel so many of the hearing people's assumptions about those who lack hearing.

I did find the chronology a little hard to follow, as he jumps back & forth between his current practice in Utah & his childhood & academic career. He says little about his childhood, probably because it was very normal with little by way of shocking or horrifying events. Highly recommended for those who like biographies/autobiographies and for those who are interested in the life of a deaf doctor.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book for hearing and the deaf., October 8, 2002

By 

Jewl (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes (Hardcover)

I am going deaf due to a tumor and this is the best book I have read yet. It is not easy going from hearing to deaf at 39 and
I am trying to understand what it is I will be going through in the next couple of years and this book has been of great help.
I wish Philip, MD Zazove would wirte more books.

I recomend this to anyone who is hearing or Deaf or HOH.
He explains everything in simple terms and he is very funny.
He wrote about things I never would have thought of.
I am glad I found his book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Really understand being hard of hearing or deaf, May 23, 2010

By 

Lynne Kinsey (SF Bay Area CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes (Hardcover)

I am deaf in one ear and Hard of Hearing in the other. As such this book expressed many feelings and experiences I share with the author. I was so impressed with his abilities and successes in his life and in his determination to become a medical doctor. I get frustrated just trying to talk and understand my doctors. Having had 3 surgeries and 2 emergency visits in the past 2 years, I've had more than my share of doctor contacts. It is so difficult for me to even imagine being a doctor with hearing limitations. It is hard for me to conceive of hearing patients being comfortable with the situation. But the descriptions of situations and the doctor's thoughts explain everything so naturally that it all seems normal. This is a book that all Hard of Hearing, as well as hearing people will enjoy and should read. I have already shared it with friends and will continue to do so.
THANK YOU!