Reading, books and deaf representation

 As far as I'm aware in my long life of reading there are very few books where the protagonists are deaf or have hearing loss, nor are there many that have deaf or hearing loss characters.  

Recently I read a book called The Silent House by Nell Pattinson.  It had the same premise most crime books have but with a twist...most people assume they would hear and wake if someone was in their house, if someone committed murder whilst you slept in the next room you would know wouldn't you?  I mean you'd hear the breaking of glass, the forcing of a door so you'd be able to alert the police, go and try to stop it....but what if you couldn't hear that? What if you can hear nothing....your profoundly deaf?  Or under the same guise what if you can hear some things but not all and still wouldn't hear someone entering your home?

I won't give anything away but the book deals with a separated couple who share two children, the husbands new partner and their child.  A mother of the separated woman, a friend and her hearing sister of the separated woman. A child is murdered in their bed whilst the husband and his new partner sleep.  

Luckily the sister of the friend {Paige} although hearing is fluent in BSL {British Sign Language} and works as an interpreter.   Paige works along side the police investigating the murder by interpreting what the police say and what the deaf suspects and witnesses also say.  

Some of the who did it, why they did it and who didn't and why they didn't are obvious if you have read many books of this genre but there are also twists and turns that could make you doubt your thoughts on who did what and why.  

However the book also shows with some detail and in an eye opening manor how vulnerable a deaf person is.  I've grown up with hearing loss, admittedly undiagnosed, and I hadn't ever really considered my personal safety, I walked alone, I walked alone late at night in unlit country lanes, I didn't worry about doors being locked, about driving late at night or breaking down.  It's only been as I've got older and had my hearing loss diagnosed that I've realised just how vulnerable I am because as The Silent House says "there are still times when we are more vulnerable than hearing people".  We always will be unless we are in the position of being lucky enough to be able to afford equipment and adaptions the vulnerability gap will become a canyon.

Unless I'm in the room I keep external doors locked, same with windows.  If I know my Dad or close relative is arriving I may unlock a door but all that has proved is I can't hear them enter no matter how much noise they make.  I am sure I wouldn't hear someone enter my home and I'm not even profoundly deaf.  I find I cannot hear people approaching me in the street and I can't hear cars...because of this I don't walk on roads even country lanes I always walk off road, I avoid cycle paths because I can't hear the cyclists and try to make sure anywhere I am is somewhere I feel comfortable.  New places bother me because I don't know what traffic levels, cyclists or people levels there are and how I will cope with it.  I try to put in place as many things as I can to remain independent yet somethings will remain out of my budget and aren't available free like some equipment for the physically disabled.  I need to keep working on being independent because a favourite phrase of mine and one that crops up in The Silent House is "I'm deaf, not Stupid" and I am, just because I have hearing loss it doesn't mean I don't understand what is going on or that I am unable to make my own decisions.

Whilst I hadn't appreciated why at the time I have always made choices throughout my life that meant I took the quiet options rather than noisy ones.  I have quiet hobbies, crafting and reading, I prefer the company of just one person at a time or two at most.  I don't like noisy environments such as pubs, restaurants and places that contain lots of people such as the beach in holiday season. All these choices have been made to make life easier when it comes to "hearing" well lipreading and interacting with others as well as being able to cope independently.  What people, friends and family alike don't realise is as The Silent House says "lipreading isn't easy when you don't know the context of what people are talking about, and only twenty percent of English speech sounds can be seen on the lips - your brain has to fill in the rest".  This is extremely exhausting and I've been known to sleep for four hours after a half hour conversation.  It's also dependent on the person you're communicating with to fill you in on context and that doesn't always happen.  

Exhaustion and people being unwilling to make the effort is why I tend to choose hobbies and activities that don't require interaction.  

Reading offers me an escape and in the world of a book I can fit in or not fit in it never seems to matter either way.  However I have noticed that fictional characters are nicer than in real life and rarely make someone feel excluded for being different. Somehow it's also comforting I love being under a blanket with a good book but equally I love relaxing in the garden with a good book too.  All in all I find reading a great escapist hobby but also something that is mostly done in silence something else I love, yet finding that  authors are including deaf and hearing loss characters is something that has made me fall in love with reading all over again and to a greater level if that's possible.

Another author who helped to achieve that is Debbie Johnson, Debbie has written a series of books about the comfort food cafe and whilst only Sunshine at the Comfort Food Cafe has an unpaid carer and caring as the main theme all the books touch on the difficulties the carer comes across.  For me Sunshine at the Comfort Food Cafe was the book I identified with the most as it really hit on the difficulties of trying to get help because there are times when you really can't do everything yourself.  The problem is a lot of the time when getting help it causes more stress in obtaining of help and then chaos and more work as the person helping often doesn't realise the severity of their actions, how much work is involved, how hard it is when things go wrong or aren't done properly which just makes you not want to bother.  I won't spoil the story but if you do get an opportunity this year to read a couple of books please make it:

The Silent House by Nell Pattison

Sunshine at the Comfort Food Cafe by Debbie Johnson

I am sure that both books will not only be a good read but will be an eye opener into the life of those with hearing loss and those who are caring or in my case...both!