Amanda McDonough - Ready to Be Heard: How I Lost My Hearing and Found My Voice

Ready to be Heard

How I Lost My Hearing and Found My Voice

Amanda McDonough

Copyright 2017 Amanda McDonough.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-0109-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-0111-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-0110-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018903806

Balboa Press rev. date: 04/27/2018

Contents

To the dreamers, the doers, and the helpers who ignore human limits and social norms to do everything they can to make this world a better placeespecially my mother, who loves and gives without ever expecting anything in return. You are my hero.

I would like to thank my family for all of their support while I wrote this book and for putting up with me working on vacations, holidays, and birthdays.

Thank you to the Frishman brothers for encouraging me to put my story to paper and for checking in on my progress as wrote it down.

Big thanks to Aarika Allura; Andzej Malins; Grandmother; my mother; and my brother, Andrew, for being my guinea pigs and reading the first several awful drafts of this bookwhich have since been destroyed to save everyone else from ever having to experience them.

Thanks to Kevlyn Walsh for creating my first mock cover of this book and Face for letting me use the great headshot he took of me for that mock cover.

Big thanks to the awesome Starley Murray for teaching me how to do television interviews so that I dont look as awkward when addressing the public as I feel in real life.

Special thanks to my uncles, Roy, Doug, Mark, Jim, and Tim; my aunts, Rene, Jayia, PJ, and Chrissy; my cousins, Paula, Anthony, Katie, Delainey, Stephanie, Gino, Ryan, Mitch, Kim, Nichole, Jonny, Joey, and Valeria; and all of my amazing family in Boston and Las Vegas, as well as abroad in Europe. I love you all dearly! Thanks for all the memories that helped me fill these pages!

Thank you to my grandmother for always telling it like it is and barging into the room singing random songs to make me smile whenever I felt overwhelmed while writing this book.

Thanks to Mishael and Ann at So, You Want to Write! for helping me edit and get the final version of this book together. You guys helped me get over that final hump, and I am so grateful.

Big thanks to Natasha Jimenez for the book cover photo shoot.

I want to express my gratitude for everyone I wrote about within these pages. You all helped me become the person I am today, and I will always be grateful for that.

To my friends, thanks for putting up with me disappearing for weeks at a time into my work, for still loving me despite my terrible texting skills, and for accepting my quirky personality.

Thank you to the Deaf community and my Deaf friends for teaching me so much and helping me to grow in my identity.

Thanks to the creator, producers, writers, cast, and crew of Switched at Birth for creating something that had such a positive impact on my life.

To the Walt Disney Company, thank you for providing me with such wonderful employment experiences in my youth.

Big thanks to God for guiding me through all these trials in my life and helping me to become a better, stronger, more faithful person.

Lastly, but definitely not least, I would like to thank my mom for encouraging me to keep going on days that this book felt like it would never be finished.

I wrote this book because I was crazy enough to want to change the world. I wanted to make life better for those going through a losswhether it is a loss of a sense, mobility, identity, a loved one, or a friend. I wanted to show those who are struggling that anything is possible if you never give up on yourself. I wanted to encourage others to change their perspective, become the hero of their own story, and tell their story to the world.

Every human on this planet has his or her own personal struggles. Mine is no worse or better than yours. How we chose to respond to our struggles is what sets us apart.

No human is perfect, and I am no exception. I have made my fair share of mistakes, responded to situations in ways I regretted later, learned from some of my wrongs, and repeated many others before lifes lessons finally got through to me.

This is the story of how I gradually lost my hearing. This is the tale of how life taught me to overcome my fears and reclaim my voice in a way that many would consider cruel.

When I lost the last of my hearing, a piece of me died. In the darkness of that pain, I chose to find hope. I discovered a new culture and language, and, most importantly, I uncovered who I truly am. Sometimes it takes defeat to reveal what really matters in life.

Today I am happy. I live an amazing life. I wrote Ready to Be Heard in the hopes that it would help others find their happiness. I wrote it in hope that it would help others realize that they are not alone and in the hope that it would inspire some to learn something new, meet someone new, try something new, empathize with someone new, or simply think something new.

Writing these pages was also therapeutic. Every word is my own. There is no ghostwriter, no fancy editor who rearranged my story. Putting these words to paper helped me realize how far I really have come in my life and how much I have grown.

It all started when I decided that my voice mattered, that my story had power, and that I could achieve my dreams and help others achieve theirs. I hope that, by the time you finish reading these pages, you will find the strength behind your own story to tackle your struggles and assist others in tackling theirs, because everyone has a story, and no one should have to struggle alone. You can make a difference. Together we can change the world for the better. This book started when I decided that I was ready to be heard.

Part 1

CHOOSING TO HAVE NO LIMITS

I dont use the word cant because I dont believe in limiting myself. I am able. I am capable. I am strong. Never think less of yourself because society expects you to behave a certain way. We decide our own limits. I have chosen to have none.