By Mary V. Rivers & Dvora Shurman

Gallaudet University Press. $34.95

Reviewed by Rolly King Kohansky

Readers of the review of this book, which gives an incredible insight into the world of the deaf and hard of hearing, will find it interesting to know the facts about the publisher of this work.

Gallaudet University is the only liberal arts university in the world dedicated to the education of deaf and hard of hearing students. This unique institution was founded in 1864, and given its authority to confer degrees by Abraham Lincoln.

To extend its reach of deaf scholarship, it established the Gallaudet University Press, publishing books and other works on all topics related to deaf and hard of hearing people. This is the eighth volume in the series “Deaf Lives”.

“Between Two Worlds” by Dvora Shurman, is an extraordinary personal journey of the writer who lived in both the hearing and the deaf worlds. She takes us through the Great

Depression, during which she, as a mere child aged 4 is entrusted with the responsibility of caring for a younger brother because both her parents were deaf. Her childhood is lonely and miserable, exacerbated by a controlling aunt who demeans her, constantly reminding her of her unattractiveness and of the fact that she should be grateful to her aunt for any small kindnesses bestowed.

A loving father helps her through the difficulties of growing up, teaching her sign language so she is able to communicate with her parents. Her mother refuses to use sign

language with her, claiming it is only for those born deaf, while she became deaf due to a

childhood disease at age 7. She is able to speak and use lip reading to communicate on a face to face level only. Although she will use sign language with other people, she refused to do so with her daughter.

The unfair and unfeeling attitudes by hearing people towards the deaf create seething resentment within her, one that propels her towards a lifelong battle to change those attitudes. Her father’s sense of humor and patience, despite his frustrations and inability to communicate with coworkers allows him to deal with his handicap far better than her mother who is difficult to please. Her father’s job at a bakery is one of boredom and constant toil but the only one he could find due to his infirmity.

Growing up in this difficult household, with deaf parents and a nagging and belligerent maiden aunt, Dvora Shurman traces the slow advancements being made for helping deaf people to cope with a changing world.

All is not totally bleak. There are happy weekends with her father’s family where she is surrounded by loving grandparents and cousins.

The history of this family is told against the background of the grim poverty during the Great Depression. The bitterness of the parents towards one another is relieved by the family’s move from New York to Milwaukee, which brings with it the friendliness of new neighbors and her mother’s gradually thawing out in the warmth of a new environment.

Dvora Shurman propels you into her world from the USA and subsequent move to Tel

Aviv, where her interest continues in helping to create an encouraging world for the deaf and hard of hearing public.

“The Silent World”

By Mary V. Rivers:

Mary Rivers reacted with fright and bewilderment upon learning that her third son was born deaf, though the others had normal hearing. A woman with little education from a “dirt poor” environment in Louisiana, Rivers undertook to give her son, Clay, as normal a childhood as possible. She accomplished a remarkable life for her son, exploring every avenue and utilizing the advantages of every opportunity to enable her son to progress to reach his full potential. This woman, who was largely self-educated and the mother of five children, seemed to be able to manage an almost heroic task in bringing up a large family while pursuing educational opportunities for her son.

Married at 17 to an army man, she and the children travelled to Europe to be with her husband and their father where she continued to look for ways to help the development of her son.

Her other children felt neglected because of the amount of attention she devoted to this boy, and when the realization dawned upon her, she did her utmost to build bridges between herself and them. Her efforts seem to have been successful. The educational and technological advances through the ensuing years have brought amazing changes to those in the silent world. And Mary Rivers explored many of them in her efforts to help Clay.

One of these developments is in the use of the telephone. Where once the telephone was an instrument they were unable to use, today deaf people have access to the TTY telephone, a telephone with a small typewriter-like keyboard. A deaf person can type a message which the recipient can read on an LCD display. This has opened up a new world allowing the deaf person to communicate with others who had previously been closed to them.

Mary Rivers’ story is truly remarkable when one considers her deprived childhood and limited education. Her determination and her devotion, augmented by her unwavering motivation to provide her son with every opportunity is a moving testament to her ability to overcome all odds.

An interesting section of this story is told by her deaf son, Clay. His admiration and appreciation of his mother’s efforts are evident in every word, for without his mother’s work he knows he would not have reached the place in society he now holds.

Today, though there are still some attitudes, due to ignorance, which need to be addressed and which persist among the general public, many obstacles have been overcome which previously had prevented the deaf and hard of hearing from leading normal lives.

This has been accomplished by educating the public in the many areas deaf people can contribute to society in meaningful ways, among them: theater, music, dance and the written word.

This volume is one of those ways.