But You Look So Normal, Claudia Marseille
But You Look So Normal, Claudia Marseille
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But You Look So Normal
Lost and Found in a Hearing World

Author: Claudia Marseille

Narrator: Becky Parker

Unabridged: 9 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/14/2024

Synopsis

By age four, Claudia Marseille had hardly uttered a word. When her parents finally had her hearing tested and learned she had a severe hearing loss, they chose to mainstream her, hoping this would offer her the most “normal” childhood possible. With the help of a primitive hearing aid, Claudia worked hard to learn to hear, lipread, and speak even as she tried to hide her disability in order to fit in. As a result, she was often misunderstood, lonely, and isolated—fitting into neither the hearing world nor the Deaf culture.
This memoir explores Claudia’s relationships with her German refugee parents—a disturbed, psychoanalyst father obsessed over various harebrained projects and moneymaking schemes and a Jewish mother who had survived the Holocaust in Munich—and with her own identity. Claudia shares how she emerged from loneliness and social isolation, explored her Jewish identity, struggled to find a career compatible with hearing loss, and eventually opened herself to a life of creativity and love.
But You Look So Normal is the inspiring story of a life affected but not defined by an invisible disability. It is a journey through family, loss, shame, identity, love, and healing as Claudia finally, joyfully, finds her place in the world.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sandra on October 08, 2023

Claudia Marseille tells a gripping story in her autobiography, But You Look So Normal. I read the book all in one day, unable to put it down. The writing is beautifully personal and authentic, and I couldn´t help but be completely engrossed in this girl´s profoundly difficult and painful path to adu......more

Goodreads review by Catherine on November 21, 2023

But You Look So Normal is a wonderful memoir, intelligent and poignant, thoughtful, honest and beautifully written. Marseille creates a felt experience of her interior and outward facing worlds -- not just as someone who is hearing impaired but as someone who pays exquisite attention to the beauty a......more

Goodreads review by Catherine on October 30, 2023

Claudia Marseille’s memoir, But You Look So Normal, is both heart-breaking and inspirational – in addition to being a good read. As a child with a profound hearing loss, she was thrown into the hearing world with little understanding or support. Her courage shines through as she embraces adventures,......more

Goodreads review by Katie on January 11, 2025

This was a fascinating memoir, I knew nothing of this woman until reading this and I feel like we went through her whole upbringing together. There's still so much that society needs to learn in the likes of Invisible Disabilities and Illnesses, but compared to the 50s/60s? Wow, are we better off. I......more

Goodreads review by Jilly Marie C on February 13, 2025

A beautifully written memoir about Claudia’s experience with a severe hearing loss. A captivating read that I couldn’t put down!......more

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