Kicking Up Dirt: A True Story of Determination, Deafness, and Daring (June 2011)

Kicking Up Dirt: A True Story of Determination, Deafness, and Daring by Ashley Fiolek & Caroline Ryder

Product Description
At nineteen, Ashley Fiolek is already the top female competitor in a tough men's sport: motocross, one of the most dangerous extreme sports in the world. Since going pro in late 2007, Fiolek has taken gold at the X Games, twice won the American Women's Motocross Championship, and become the first woman in American motocross history to be signed to a factory team—the highest echelon of industry backing. These remarkable achievements seem even more extraordinary because Fiolek was born profoundly deaf, a handicap that makes everyday life difficult . . . and competition on the track downright treacherous.

But Fiolek has never let her disability stand in the way of her dreams, nor has she allowed her gender to limit her career. One of the sport's most talked-about stars, she's changing the way the industry views women. Kicking Up Dirt is the remarkable true story of Ashley Fiolek's ride to greatness—the inspiring tale of a courageous young woman's determination to succeed in the face of truly challenging obstacles.

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: It Books; Reprint edition (June 7, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0061946486
ISBN-13: 978-0061946486

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Across the nation, universities are announcing their 2010 Common Reading selection. Many of them have selected The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. Gallaudet University is no exception. Skloot's book has made its way into national and local papers, has become a best seller, and has library patrons waiting in haste!
 
At Gallaudet University, on February 24, 2010 as part of her national book tour, Skloot recounted the story of the late Henrietta Lacks, a woman scientists are familiar with based only on her cells since they were the first "immortal" human cells grown in culture. The visit was an emotional one for the author, who learned that in the 1950s, Gallaudet housed a school for black deaf students. Henrietta Lacks's children, some of whom were deaf and hard of hearing, lived in Baltimore during that time, yet the family was never aware of the school or a similar one in Baltimore. Instead, the children barely learned how to read and write after attending public schools that never accommodated their needs.
Gallaudet University's Denison House, a new student housing project that places a faculty member and graduate student with undergraduate students, will use The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as the centerpiece of its bioethics theme during the coming year.

While this isn't a traditional selection for my blog, it's a fascinating story that involves deaf individuals. I will post more about this during the year once the author visits campus.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Crown; 1 edition edition (February 2, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1400052173
ISBN-13: 978-1400052172