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Deaf Utopia: A Memoir—And a Love Letter to a Way of Life
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71/99
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Scholars
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About This Book
A heartfelt and inspiring memoir and Deaf culture anthem by Nyle DiMarco, actor, producer, two-time reality show winner, and cultural icon of the international Deaf community. Before becoming the actor, producer, advocate, and model that people know today, Nyle DiMarco was half of a pair of Deaf twins born to a multi-generational Deaf family in Queens, New York. At the hospital one day after he was born, Nyle "failed" his first test—a hearing test—to the joy and excitement of his parents. In this moving and engrossing memoir, Nyle shares stories, both heartbreaking and humorous, of what it means to navigate a world built for hearing people. From growing up in a rough-and-tumble childhood in Queens with his big and loving Italian-American family to where he is now, Nyle has always been driven to explore beyond the boundaries given him. A college math major and athlete at Gallaudet—the famed university for the Deaf in Washington, DC—Nyle was drawn as a young man to acting, and dove headfirst into the reality show competitions America's Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars—ultimately winning both competitions. Deaf Utopia is more than a memoir, it is a cultural anthem—a proud and defiant song of Deaf culture and a love letter to American Sign Language, Nyle's primary language. Through his stories and those of his Deaf brothers, parents, and grandparents, Nyle opens many windows into the Deaf experience. Deaf Utopia is intimate, suspenseful, hilarious, eye-opening, and smart—both a memoir and a celebration of what makes Deaf culture unique and beautiful.
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Reviews
"Along the way, he immerses readers in the rich dialogue of American sign language ..."
"An eye-opening and engaging tale of what it is like to grow up in the Deaf community along with the difficult and rewarding aspects of navigating the world when everyone expects you to be able to hear everything ..."
"Deaf Utopia is an empowering, eye-opening and beautifully expressed memoir."
"Interwoven throughout the narrative are pivotal moments in Deaf history and culture that have shaped the author as an individual."
"Deaf Utopia is generous to its hearing readers, offering patient insights into Deaf culture and history, and it takes the unique step of conveying ASL conversations that employ the grammar and rhythms of ASL as far as possible, rather than finding near equivalents in spoken English."
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