Hands of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love

This was a selection for our book group and I would never have picked it without that motivation. It is a great book. It is wonderful story alerting the hearing world to what a deaf person has to deal with--and we are not very accommodating. As a son, Myron, was a jewel and became the ears for his parents. The story is also heartwarming as the father/son relationship narrated here is unique in every way. The responsibility of Myron in this family was beyond imagination--he was the ears for his parents and the caretaker of his brother for many years. It was great to see the umbilical cord cut when he went off to college and experienced life on his own. A good read for everyone.

If I were a really brave person, I would use the video review and sign it in ASL. But I leave the signing to Myron Uhlberg and especially his description of his father and mother.I devoured this Kindle edition in 2 days and thought it was excellent. First of all for the Kindle version, the images (which are often missing in many Kindle books) are superbly done (kudos to Bantam E-Books! for attempting to make the images sharp and clear and to provide them for the reader!).Uhlberg is a born story-teller and gets the gift naturally from his father. This is really a love story - Kudos to him for having his online book previews presented with him reading (in a tiny window at the bottom of the screen) while an interpreter tells the story in ASL (American Sign Language).Anyone interested in Deaf studies, CODA (Children of Deaf Adults), ASL, growing up in the Depression era in Brooklyn and learning how a silent world can be filled with the sounds of love and happiness owes it to themselves to read this book.

I just put my kindle down and all I can say is wow. The author does an incredible job of describing the descriptive nature of sign language. It makes me want to relearn the language I love so much. He describes in vivid detail the signs and the images they evoke. I am not one for memoirs, but this one was everything I could ask for in one.I can picture his father sitting at the table making paper hats from the New York Post every night and dancing with his Mother Sarah. I can picture Irwin sluggishly moving thru life and the feeling of your parents using you because they have no other option.The love in this book is nearly overwhelming - from the initial lack from their parents and then the author fills in the blanks from stories told so beautifully its as if you can see them playing before you in your own kitchen.I wish I could read more books that have a soul like this one. Read this one for the story, enjoy the sign language, and laugh and cry along the way!

What a joy is this memoir of honest, unequivocal, timeless familial love! This is a story told by a virtually unknown master with a mighty heart, as well as an ability to craft the truth with the precision ordinarily discounted by the very use of language. The chasm between words and feelings is somehow bridged by a communication gift which must have been developed as a result of the unusual circumstances into which Myron "Mike" Uhlberg was born. His first language involved no vibrations for his own functioning ears to translate. Events, facts, emotions and instructions were portrayed by the exquisite movements of his father's and his mother's loving hands in a language now referred to as ASL - American Sign Language. And so the perceptions of young Myron were grounded in a totally different milieu than any hearing child's in the world of hearing people. Life's mysteries which bewilder every kid, everywhere were a phantasmagoria of wonder to little Myron in his unique, peculiar setting.Difficulty gives value to the things that ease discounts. And this is a book that burnishes this theme with a brillance for the ages. A tale of a kid from Brooklyn, born during the darkest years of the Great Depression to a deaf Mom and Pop becomes a parable for the most universal, heartfelt yearnings, ambivalence and imaginings of which human consciousness is capable. I am absolutely stunned by this little gem with its mighty portrait of love and tenderness.As an infant born to two deaf parents the majesty of life, sound, linguistic nuance and sign language have been fused with a gifted story teller's mind to create one of the great surprises of my reading experience. I can't rave enough. Perhaps, if I could sign, my expression might match my admiration. My words can not do it.

Others have summarized this book, so I will just tell my impressions. One: It is beautifully written. Two: It has entertaining stories and anecdotes that will make you laugh and sometimes cry. Among these is his hilarious description of his "translating" for the teacher at a parent-teacher conference. I'll just say that initially the "translation" strayed from the truth. Three: It shows the strong love that bonded this boy and his deaf parents, even though sometimes, he admits, it was a burden and a shame to have such parents. Four: It paints a clear picture of growing up in Brooklyn during the Depression. And last: The author eloquently describes the beauty and immediacy of American sign language as contrasted with oral speech. He compares the sign language more to a picture than to words, and we all know a picture is worth a thousand words. I only wish his parents could have read this book, but surely they read his heart and knew his love for them. I don't know when I have enjoyed a book as much as I did this one. I read it in my Kindle 2, but I'm checking it out from the library so that I can share it with a friend.

A beautiful old book, well looked after, and still in its library cover. Good packaging and delivered on time.

The condition of the book is good. I am still reading it. So far, it's fascinating!