What I love about The Sign for Home by Blair Fell is that it features a differently abled main character. Representation matters! I learn much about the deaf-blind community. The ending of the book is perhaps not quite realistic. Life is not that neatly packaged, and issues not that easily resolved. Regardless, I am glad to follow Arlo's story for all that I learn about the real world from his story.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/12/the-sign-for-home.html

Reviewed for NetGalley. ( )

Dang, y'all. One of the reasons we read books is to get a glimpse into other people's lives, other people's worlds, other people's experiences. And it has been a long time since a book has done that for me so completely as Blair Fell's THE SIGN FOR HOME.

The protagonist is Arlo, a young man in his early 20s who has signed up to take a writing class at his local community college. Arlo is also DeafBlind, so as part of taking the class, he gets a new interpreter, Cyril, to team up with his long-term interpreter Molly. Arlo is a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his uncle, who is his legal guardian, keeps him sheltered from the (as he sees it) corrupting influence of the outside world. But Cyril encourages Arlo in a way that no one ever has before, and he slowly starts to question how much of the rest of the world he's missing.

Did I say dang, y'all? Because dang. My knowledge of DeafBlind people started and ended with the kids-story-ified version of Helen Keller's life, but this book absolutely sucked me in to their world, and their perceptions, and the challenges they face and the inner life that they often struggle to communicate with the Hearing and Sighted. Fell is an interpreter who works with the DeafBlind community, and he interviewed a number of them while writing, and had several beta-read this book, so everything felt very grounded and authentic - not the same as having something in a DeafBlind person's own words, of course, but the next best thing. I spent most of the book in varying stages of shocked outrage at the abuses and violations that the Deaf and DeafBlind communities are subject to - something I would have realized if I had given it any thought, but it was something that I *hadn't* thought much about, which I think was part of the point. The book gets into some thorny ethical issues, and is not at all shy about highlighting the ways that our system can fail disabled people, at every level.

I went into this book thinking it was a romance - maybe from the rom-com-esque cover? And one of the main plot points of the book *is* Arlo finding and reconnecting with his first love. But expecting it to be a fun and fluffy romance was a mistake. While there were certainly some funny parts, this book was definitely not fluffy. But wow, was it compelling as heck. Cyril and Arlo were such interesting characters, and I don't think Arlo's voice will leave my head for a long, long time. ( )

“Arlo Dilly is young, handsome, and eager to meet the right girl. He also happens to be DeafBlind, a Jehovah’s Witness, and under the strict guardianship of his controlling uncle.” I learned quite a bit about the DeafBlind and how much they depend on their translators to handle many of their needs. Although, I did know of American Sign Language and Tactile ASL, there are two additional languages developed by the DeafBlind in Seattle called Protactile expression and Haptics. The information included in this very entertaining story is really amazing and really adds to the the enjoyment of this book.

In addition to being Deaf and Blind, Arlo has lost his mother and now lives with his uncle in a strict, joyless Jehovah Witness house. His present interpreter, Molly has been working with him for ten years under the guidance of the uncle. When Arlo is allowed to go to college for a writing course, he needs another interpreter since the work is too difficult for one person to handle a whole class. His new interpreter, Cyril is gay, agnostic and new to working with the DeafBlind. Cyril is everything that Arlo is not and quickly realizes that Arlo’s understanding of language, life, and even love has been governed and censored by his former interpreter and guardian. This is a book that hits all the feels and keeps you telling anyone unlucky enough to be in the same room with you while reading this book, “You’re not going to believe this” over and over! ( )

To say that I loved this book would be a massive understatement. Everything about it was so hard to imagine and analyze from my perspective, a perspective that was blatantly ignorant of Usher Syndrome Type 1. Oh, you don’t know what this is either? Pick up this book and become informed while you are being entertained and then amazed at how proficient the DeafBlind can and have become in a sighted world. Learn about what the ADA law is lacking and how it needs to be amended so every DeafBlind person can have access to the world and the human rights they are owed and deserve.

This book is filled with information which is neatly integrated into the story and I feel as if I now have an understanding, slight as it may be, of what the Arlo Dilly’s of the world have to contend with while depending on the assistance of the hearing-sighted for much of their needs. I now know about Tactile ASL, Protactile expression, the importance of and ethics of correct interpretation and translation. Imagine for just one minute a person who may have no understanding of “sound, meter, rhyme” and especially being deprived of “nuance” in the spoken word, sentence, paragraph and then imagine relying on the proficiency of your translators/interpreters. Mind boggling. Throw into the mix the ETHICS of a translator/interpreter who is bound not to reveal discussions they had with their clients or knowledge of their client with a third party without the client being present and part of the discussion - should the translator/interpreter err on the side of “ethical rigidity or empathetic advocacy”.? Not a pleasant dilemma.

Besides an education there is a wonderful story that can engage all your senses and emotions and once again I am praising this book to the sky and beyond. Thank you NetGalley and Emily Bestler Books/Atria/Simon & Schuster for a copy. ( )

Coming of age is never easy, independence is always a challange, sometimes it's even harder. Imagine being a deaf/blind young man, raised in a strict religious atmosphere, never allowed to learn of its choices. That is Arlo, and it's heartbreakingly wonderful to watch him develop a self. When he gets a new interpreter, his world opens up as does his interpreter Cyril.
I learned a lot of things about the deaf/blind, considered many new thoughts I'd not considered before. The ethical conflicts, the laws, so much to learn that I've never been exposed to before. At times it felt like I was in another world. I wish there were more diverse books like this, it was an amazing look into a different way of being in this world.
I've never read a book like this. It was amazing, disturbing and thought provoking. I would recommend it. ( )