Finding
Zoe: A Deaf Woman's Story of Identity, Love, and Adoption by Gail Harris and Brandi Rarus with a foreword by Marlee Matlin
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: BenBella Books (October 7, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1940363225
Book
Description
At just a few months old, Zoe was
gradually losing her hearing. Her adoptive parents loved her—yet
agonized—feeling they couldn’t handle raising a Deaf child. Would Zoe go back
into the welfare system and spend her childhood hoping to find parents willing
to adopt her? Or, would she be the long-sought answer to a mother’s prayers?
Brandi Rarus was just 6 when spinal
meningitis took away her hearing. Because she spoke well and easily adjusted to
lip reading, she was mainstreamed in school and socialized primarily in the
hearing community. Brandi was a popular, happy teen, but being fully part of
every conversation was an ongoing struggle. She felt caught between two worlds—the
Deaf and the hearing.
In college, Brandi embraced Deaf Culture
along with the joys of complete and effortless communication with her peers.
Brandi went on to become Miss Deaf America in 1988 and served as a spokesperson
for her community. It was during her tenure as Miss Deaf America that Brandi
met Tim, a leader of the Gallaudet Uprising in support of selecting the
university’s first Deaf president. The two went on to marry and had three
hearing boys—the first non-deaf children born in Tim’s family in 125 years.
Brandi was incredibly grateful to have
her three wonderful sons, but couldn’t shake the feeling something was missing.
She didn’t know that Zoe, a six-month-old Deaf baby girl caught in the foster
care system, was desperately in need of a family unafraid of her different
needs. Brandi found the answer to her prayers when fate brought her new adopted
daughter into her life.
Set against the backdrop of Deaf
America, Finding Zoe is an uplifting story of hope, adoption, and everyday
miracles.
About the Author
Deaf since age six after contracting
spinal meningitis, Brandi Rarus could speak and read lips, but felt caught
between the deaf and hearing world--fitting into neither. When she realized you
don't need to hear to live a fulfilled life, she became empowered and was
chosen as Miss Deaf America. From signing the National Anthem at a Chicago Cubs
game to speaking at corporate conferences, Brandi traveled the country speaking
out for deaf children and building awareness of what it means to be Deaf. She
married Tim Rarus, an advocate for Deaf people whose work inspired the landmark
Americans with Disabilities Act. Together, they have paved the way to bring new
technologies that promote equal access in communication. Brandi and Tim live in
Austin, Texas, with their four children: three hearing boys and the youngest,
Zoe, a Deaf girl they adopted. Today, Brandi and her family are tirelessly
dedicated to ensuring all children find their rightful place in our world.
Award-winning writer and teacher of the intuitive process, Gail Harris has
experienced the joy of adopting a child. She brings her knowledge of the
adoption process and in-vitro fertilization to this book, along with her
ability to articulate from a hearing person's perspective what is fascinating
about the Deaf experience. In the four years that it took to write Finding Zoe,
Gail conducted more than 75 interviews to uncover. Gail is the author of Your Heart Knows the Answer and a
featured blogger on several popular parenting blogs. She lives with her husband
and son in Framingham, MA.
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