Khurram Saeed with The Journal News in White Plains, NY printed in a May edition that Lila Worzel Miller, hearing daughter of Deaf parents, learned sign language before learning to speak. her first signed words: “I Love You”. That was during the Great Depression before television became common. Miller would act out the flights broadcast on radio for her father. “Deaf people are not dumb”, Miller says, “nor are they silent”. Miller, a New City, NY resident since 1972, has written a book about growing up a hearing child in a Deaf Home. Titled “The Best of Both Worlds: A Not-So-Silent Life” is a loving tribute to her parents while offering a glimpse into a Family with Deaf and hearing members. The report states that whileno statistics on the number of children of Deaf adults are available, 90% of children born to Deaf mothers or fathers can hear according to figures from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. “There’s a whole culture related to deaf people,” said mariann Jacobson, president of the New Jersey chapter of the national nonprofit group CODA (Children of Deaf Adults). “A lot of time CODA’s, because they are hearing, feel they should readily fit into the hearing world. But they don’t quite fit. And we’ve heard stories where they sign so well, but once the person finds that you’re not deaf there’s some feeling that you’re not one of them. Many feel most comfortable in this CODA skin.” While author Miller says she doesn’t belong to CODA, she explains that she decided to write the book after her mother Miriam died in 1992 because she wanted people to see that growing up in a Deaf world wasn’t any different than any other. She made up her mind after she read several books by CODA’s that annoyed her because the authors described childhoods that were full of hardships and strife. “Some of them were very negative,” Miller said. “It was like, I never had a childhood. I had to struggle. I had to take care of them.” I’m sure some people had it tough. I can understand it. But that’s not my story. I had the best of both worlds, hearing and deaf, and I wanted to tell it.” The 121-page book, which was printed in December, took Miller seven years.
Hearing daughter of Deaf Immigrants Writes Book
Khurram Saeed with The Journal News in White Plains, NY printed in a May edition that Lila Worzel Miller, hearing daughter of Deaf parents, learned sign language before learning to speak. her first signed words: “I Love You”. That was during the Great Depression before television became common. Miller would act out the flights broadcast on radio for her father. “Deaf people are not dumb”, Miller says, “nor are they silent”. Miller, a New City, NY resident since 1972, has written a book about growing up a hearing child in a Deaf Home. Titled “The Best of Both Worlds: A Not-So-Silent Life” is a loving tribute to her parents while offering a glimpse into a Family with Deaf and hearing members. The report states that whileno statistics on the number of children of Deaf adults are available, 90% of children born to Deaf mothers or fathers can hear according to figures from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. “There’s a whole culture related to deaf people,” said mariann Jacobson, president of the New Jersey chapter of the national nonprofit group CODA (Children of Deaf Adults). “A lot of time CODA’s, because they are hearing, feel they should readily fit into the hearing world. But they don’t quite fit. And we’ve heard stories where they sign so well, but once the person finds that you’re not deaf there’s some feeling that you’re not one of them. Many feel most comfortable in this CODA skin.” While author Miller says she doesn’t belong to CODA, she explains that she decided to write the book after her mother Miriam died in 1992 because she wanted people to see that growing up in a Deaf world wasn’t any different than any other. She made up her mind after she read several books by CODA’s that annoyed her because the authors described childhoods that were full of hardships and strife. “Some of them were very negative,” Miller said. “It was like, I never had a childhood. I had to struggle. I had to take care of them.” I’m sure some people had it tough. I can understand it. But that’s not my story. I had the best of both worlds, hearing and deaf, and I wanted to tell it.” The 121-page book, which was printed in December, took Miller seven years.
Published On:
1 Iyyar 5770 (1 Iyyar 5770 (April 15, 2010))
