Myron Uhlberg

Hands of My Father is a wonderful set of recollections about a man, a family, a love and a language. The sound of silence is portrayed so well, almost magically, and causes questions to arise such as, "What does wet sound like?" Softly and carefully, I was made to realize just how much I take for granted in this hearing world, how much responsibility I do not have. Young Myron was relied upon to translate an entire sense for his parents, and to navigate the streets of ignorance and show more miscommunication with skill most adults don't even have. In short, this was a magnificent story about the silent love between two people, and the power of communication beyond mere language. show less

I tear up every time I get to the part where the hearing co-workers thank the deaf men who saved their lives. I'm also touched by the truth behind the fiction--how much Myron Uhlberg adored and admired his own deaf father, a printer.

I enjoyed listening to this book in class, mostly because our professor does a good job reading the books aloud. But I gave it two stars because of the Superdome scene which, after our class discussion, I think is a misrepresentation of what happened. I’m sure there were instances of people being ugly to one another but I believe my classmates who said they saw more instances of comradiry. The media really did make the superdome look like it was such an unsafe place to be, because of the show more people inside, not the actual weather or lack of basic food. And then to see that misrepresention in the book was written and illustrated by people who watched Katrina on CNN, that confirmed to me that people outside of New Orleans will always hold this untrue bias about what happened. show less

The Universal Language of Love

I don't usually read memoirs but this one piqued my interest. The book covers Myron Uhlberg's childhood growing up among the hearing with deaf parents. Uhlberg's story is a universal one, it is about family, growing up different, unconditional love, and dealing with hardship.

Certainly a theme throughout the book is one of prejudice, and championing the underdog. Uhlberg describes the harsh reality of being a son of "deafies" and how the hearing world show more systematically dismissed his father as a "dummy". Uhlberg was in a unique position as he was often the conduit for his father between the hearing world and their world.

My favorite memory from the book was Uhlberg's description of how he would translate boxing commentary from the radio to his father by imitating boxing jabs.

Overall, a heartfelt book that is highly relatable. Definitely recommend to read. show less