

Katherine Bouton, Author
Katherine Bouton. FSG/Sarah Crichton, $26 (272p) ISBN 978-0-374-26304-1
Reviewed on: 10/29/2012
Release date: 02/19/2013
Though she’s never been able to pinpoint the cause of her affliction, former New York Times senior editor Bouton remembers the day she began to lose her hearing and suddenly found herself among the ranks of the estimated 275 million people around the world with some type of hearing impairment. She recounts her story and expands it to include the experiences of others (each chapter closes with a profile of a person with a hearing disability, including a British opera singer, a psychoanalyst, and a professor), crafting a study rich in detail and broad in scope that touches on the intricacies of cochlear implants and the increasing amount of ambient noise in our society, as well as the shame, frustration, and guilt the hearing impaired face in the workplace and in private conversation. This 360 degree approach to the topic makes this more than just a memoir; it’s a unique method of storytelling that educates, engages, and occasionally enrages the reader, who will come away with a new understanding of the widespread and often puzzling topic of hearing loss and how it can be overcome, or at least managed. Agent: Jim Levine, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency Inc. (Feb. 19)
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