Pearl Pearson is your typical father and grandfather. He loves his family and respects the law enforcement careers his son and son-in-law pursue. Back in January, Pearl was pulled over by a highway patrolman on a traffic violation. When the officer commanded an action, Pearl didn’t respond and the situation turned violent. Police surveillance video … Continue reading
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Learning to Hear Without Ear Canals
I met Janet at a presentation I gave this summer in Kansas City. The speaking topic was “How to Thrive with a Hearing Loss.” While I expected attendees to have a basic understanding of hearing loss and deafness, I wasn’t prepared to meet someone who had as many years of personal experience as Janet did. … Continue reading
What Swimming Pools Do to My Ears
Go back in time with me to the summer of 1983. My family owned an above-ground swimming pool that kept me and my sisters entertained most days. I was nine years old. It wasn’t the first time I had worn plugs to keep the water out of my ears. Wearing ear plugs with water was … Continue reading
Don’t Ever Read Lips While Driving…Trust Me!
Driving and I don’t always get along. I admit that I should pay better attention to my motoring skills. From the scrape on the passenger door of my mini-van to the cracked bumper, I have participated in enough fender-benders to keep my insurance agent in business. Would it be okay to blame the inattentive driving … Continue reading
Why Is It So Hard for Me to Listen?
“Because I have hearing loss.” That would be the simplest way to answer my question. For years, I have struggled with taking the time to listen when others are talking with me. If a friend has a problem and needs a listening ear, I can focus for a minute or two, and then my mind … Continue reading
Answer this Question: What Were You Doing Five Years Ago?
Five years ago this month, my first book debuted. A book tour followed, with stops in Nashville, Tennessee; Kansas City; Oklahoma City; and the small town that inspired the book—Chickasha, Oklahoma. Lip Reader is a work of fiction, but the story has some true elements. The main character, Sapphie, is a reflection of me as … Continue reading
I Will Miss You, Maya
Weeks after my second child was born, I was in the throes of a horrible postpartum depression. Something motivated me to pick up a copy of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the memoir of author and poet Maya Angelou. In the book, Maya shares about growing up in racially segregated Arkansas and how … Continue reading
The True Story of How Show Me Your Ears Began
The birth of Show Me Your Ears took place in my minivan. While sitting in the car outside my hearing aid provider’s office last year, I reeled with painful emotions. A hearing test revealed my deepest fear: I had lost more hearing. Worse yet, the hearing aids I wore were no longer powerful enough to … Continue reading
Do You Have a Fear of Failure?
I recently read a story about a woman who was afraid to jump off a cliff as part of a thrill-seeking group activity. The thought of jumping off anything, let alone a cliff, sends terror chills down my spine. You can read the story here. Since childhood, I have had a fear of leaping off … Continue reading
Letter to My Childhood Sunday School Teacher
This Easter, I want to recognize a particular teacher I knew as a kid. Miss Ann and I attended a country church in Oklahoma during the early 1980s. She was the first Sunday school teacher I can remember from my childhood. There may have been others, but Miss Ann taught me in a plain-spoken way. … Continue reading
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