Adrift among Jews
Contents
Foreword by Philip Bravin
Reader’s Note
Part One. Hearing Voices
Sound
Sisters
Home
The Bronx
Learning a Prayer
Uniforms for Deaf Girls
Let the Baby Hear
Whistle
Angels Looking over Me?
Because Miriam Hears
Unlearning a Prayer
Daddy’s Store and the World of Fourth Avenue
Daddy’s Circle of Light
Mommy or Me?
Breakdown
Sisters Divided
On the Road
Inches to Miles
Florida
Swimming Pool
All Is Well
School under the Umbrellas
Back to Normal
The Question
No Answer
Part Two. Before Ma Had Daughters
Earpiece
Before Ma Had Daughters
The Doctor Hears, but...
First Classroom
Shirley’s Lessons
Miss Magna’s School of the Dance
No Worries
A Room of My Own?
The Big Backyard
Neighbor to the Left
Neighbor to the Right
Trick or Treat
Holy Smokes
Coney Island Summers
My Swimming Buddy
How Ma’s Hair Turned White
Part Three. Just Like the Princesses in England
241st Street Station
The Roar of the Train
Not for You!
My Autograph Book
Grade School Graduation: June 22, 1940
How Do You Get Scared?
World War II
The Red Cross
Routines of War
Daddy’s Map of Europe
Junior High
The Rare Specimen
A School of My Own
A Hearing World
Sylvia’s Wartime Job: Radio Assembly Technician
War at the Matinees
"Learn Privacy"
Just Like the Princesses in England
Air Raid Alert
Part Four. Sylvia’s Courtship
A Mount Vernon Christmas
Sylvia’s Courtship
Carl’s Parents
The Fair People
The Ring
Chanukah Christmas
What about Robert?
What If...?
The Apartment
The Bridal District
Sylvia’s Wedding Day
Part Five. Where Do Your Sisters Go?
Puh-ta-toes and Puh-pees
Ma’s Hats
Where Do Your Sisters Go?
Birthday Party
Always the Same
Hearing Aids for Deaf Kids
Part Six. Me in My Own World
Growing Pains
Me in My Own World
Religious Education
The Summer of 1945
The Baby Buzzer
Camp Homesick
Beautiful Baby Boy
Part Seven. Life or Death Choices
Decision Time
College Acceptance
Brandeis Camp Institute, 1946
Lessons in Leadership
Life or Death Choices
Dr. Alsop
Leaving Home
Finding My Place in the World
Part Eight. The Truth about Deaf Babies
My Trade
Letter from Len
A Serious Boyfriend
Damaged Goods
Starting a Family
When Things Go Wrong
The Truth about Deaf Babies
A Gift from My Sisters
Ma as My Role Model
My Life’s Work
Continuing My Studies
Parents and Child: To Understand, to Be Understood
Paying It Forward: The Interpreter Service
Part Nine. First Language
Not Quite Forgotten
A Broken Silence
Remainders
Genetic Testing
Locating the East: Our Genetic Family Tree
First Language
A Lovely Day
Today’s Different World
In the Year 2022
Family Photographs
Acknowledgments
About the Author