100 books like Shouting Won't Help

By Katherine Bouton,

Here are 100 books that Shouting Won't Help fans have personally recommended if you like Shouting Won't Help. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Hear & Beyond: Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss

Claudia Marseille Author Of But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World

From my list on living with a severe hearing loss.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve had a severe hearing loss since birth and grew up dependent on lipreading and hearing aids. I’ve witnessed profound change in technology, from the large primitive hearing aid I had as a child, to digital and assistive listening technologies and the availability of cochlear implants. I’ve painfully navigated my way through public schools, and later at jobs, with an invisible disability. Today I am grateful for connectivity to the phone, captioning for movies and Zoom which enables me to lipread! I finally found my way to a life of creativity as a painter and writer. 

Claudia's book list on living with a severe hearing loss

Claudia Marseille Why did Claudia love this book?

This book has become a kind of Bible for those with hearing loss, certainly it has for me. Both authors share their own personal experiences with hearing loss, but this book is primarily a wonderful handbook for self-advocacy.

It is chock full of valuable information about how to navigate the hearing loss world; from the latest hearing technology to how to communicate more effectively in the world. I learned new things that I’ve now applied to my life.

I love movies, but unless they are foreign films with subtitles, I’ve always struggled to understand what is being said. But I discovered there are captioning devices that will download in real time what is being said. Just recently, I watched Barbie with a captioning device that fit into my seat’s cup holder. To my delight, I was able to glance down periodically and read all the dialogue. 

This is just one…

By Shari Eberts, Gael Hannan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hear & Beyond as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hearing loss doesn't come with an operating manual-until now.

If you have hearing loss, you already know that the conventional approach to treatment is focused on hearing-aid technology. What's missing from this hearing care model is the big picture-a real-life illustration of how hearing loss, its emotions, and its barriers affect every corner of your life.

Now, hearing-health advocates, consultants, and speakers Shari Eberts and Gael Hannan offer a new skills-based approach to hearing loss that is centered not on hearing better, but on communicating better.

With honesty and humor, they share their own hearing loss journeys, and outline invaluable…


Book cover of Soundtrack of Silence: Love, Loss, and a Playlist for Life

Claudia Marseille Author Of But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World

From my list on living with a severe hearing loss.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve had a severe hearing loss since birth and grew up dependent on lipreading and hearing aids. I’ve witnessed profound change in technology, from the large primitive hearing aid I had as a child, to digital and assistive listening technologies and the availability of cochlear implants. I’ve painfully navigated my way through public schools, and later at jobs, with an invisible disability. Today I am grateful for connectivity to the phone, captioning for movies and Zoom which enables me to lipread! I finally found my way to a life of creativity as a painter and writer. 

Claudia's book list on living with a severe hearing loss

Claudia Marseille Why did Claudia love this book?

I was so engrossed by this poignant memoir that I inhaled it one day. Hay describes how he lost all his hearing in his 20s due to a rare disease that causes tumors that required removal over many surgeries with major side effects and long and difficult rehabs. Honestly, I don’t know how he achieved all that he did while juggling a demanding job and three children.  

Delightfully woven throughout his account is a tale of his musical journey as he is determined to commit to memory the lyrics of his favorite songs while going deaf. I had fun learning about the music that informed his generation. I was also moved by the love between him and his devoted wife, Nora, who unfailingly stood beside him every step of the way.  

It is a poignant account of bravery and resilience as he works hard to live a life as normal…

By Matt Hay,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Soundtrack of Silence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As a child, Matt Hay didn't know his hearing wasn't the way everyone else processed sound - and like a lot of kids who do workarounds to fit in, even the school nurse didn't catch his condition at the annual hearing and vision checks. But as a prospective college student who couldn't pass the entrance requirements for West Point, Hay's condition, generated by a tumour, was unavoidable: his hearing was going, and fast.

Soundtrack of Silence was his determined compensation for his condition: a typical Midwestern kid growing up in the 1980s, whose life events were pegged to pop music,…


Book cover of I'll Scream Later

Claudia Marseille Author Of But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World

From my list on living with a severe hearing loss.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve had a severe hearing loss since birth and grew up dependent on lipreading and hearing aids. I’ve witnessed profound change in technology, from the large primitive hearing aid I had as a child, to digital and assistive listening technologies and the availability of cochlear implants. I’ve painfully navigated my way through public schools, and later at jobs, with an invisible disability. Today I am grateful for connectivity to the phone, captioning for movies and Zoom which enables me to lipread! I finally found my way to a life of creativity as a painter and writer. 

Claudia's book list on living with a severe hearing loss

Claudia Marseille Why did Claudia love this book?

In 1986 I sobbed the whole way through the film Children of a Lesser God starring Marlee Matlin and William Hurt, about the doomed romance between a hearing teacher at a school for the Deaf and a young deaf woman who works as a janitor. So, when her autobiography came out in 2010, I just gobbled it up.

It is a soul-baring account of her life, starting with the total loss of her hearing at 18 months, her sexual abuse, addictions, and her various fraught romances. She is now a celebrated award-winning actress, an advocate for the Deaf community, and is actively involved in various charitable organizations.

I am amazed at how much she has accomplished, given her deafness and all that she has gone through. It gave me an important glimpse into a celebrity’s Deaf experience.

By Marlee Matlin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I'll Scream Later as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Audiences everywhere fell in love with Marlee Matlin as the deaf student-turned-custodian in Children of a Lesser God, a role for which she became the youngest woman ever to win a Best Actress Oscar. Since then, she has become an inspirational force of nature - as a mother, activist and role model - in addition to playing memorable roles on popular television shows, such as Seinfeld, The West Wingand The L Word, and competing on Dancing with the Stars.Now, in I'll Scream Later, Marlee shares the story of her life.

Marlee takes readers on a journey of her life, from…


Book cover of Life After Deaf: My Misadventures in Hearing Loss and Recovery

Claudia Marseille Author Of But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World

From my list on living with a severe hearing loss.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve had a severe hearing loss since birth and grew up dependent on lipreading and hearing aids. I’ve witnessed profound change in technology, from the large primitive hearing aid I had as a child, to digital and assistive listening technologies and the availability of cochlear implants. I’ve painfully navigated my way through public schools, and later at jobs, with an invisible disability. Today I am grateful for connectivity to the phone, captioning for movies and Zoom which enables me to lipread! I finally found my way to a life of creativity as a painter and writer. 

Claudia's book list on living with a severe hearing loss

Claudia Marseille Why did Claudia love this book?

Holston, a journalist and musician, went to bed one night and woke up the next morning virtually completely deaf.

His book is a fascinating account of how he clawed his way back to the hearing world through various misdiagnoses, a failed cochlear implant, and finally, after extensive rehabilitative therapy, a successful cochlear implant. I learned so much about the pros and cons and risks of cochlear implants, and how they have improved greatly over the years.

I loved the way he communicates his profound frustrations and fears through this painful process with a self-deprecating humor that makes the book, despite its serious subject matter, an entertaining as well as educational read.

By Noel Holston,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Life After Deaf as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From a renowned media critic to a man with sudden and full hearing loss, Noel Holston ran the gauntlet of diagnoses, health insurance, and cochlear implant surgery. On a spring night in 2010, Noel Holston, a journalist, songwriter, and storyteller, went to bed with reasonably intact hearing. By dawn, it was gone, thus beginning a long process of h


Book cover of But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World

Elaine Lin Hering Author Of Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully

From my list on helping you realize you’re not the problem.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve finally realized that you can’t outwork yourself out of systemic problems and that so many of the messages we receive have got the problem wrong. Growing up, I was taught to respect my elders. To defer to those who know what they are talking about. But just because someone says something with conviction doesn’t mean they are right. What we’ve been told is imposter syndrome could actually be imposter treatment, and it messes deeply with our sense of self. So even if I’ve taught at brand name institutions, at corporate heavyweights, and on six continents, I’m always seeking to learn.

Elaine's book list on helping you realize you’re not the problem

Elaine Lin Hering Why did Elaine love this book?

We have more in common than we realize. I’m not hard of hearing, nor did I grow up in a generation before digital hearing aids existed. But Claudia’s book transported me through that experience and stresses that while our experiences and identities might be different, the pain of unseen, unheard, and isolated is universally human.

When I’m impatient with progress, Claudia’s journey reminds me of how far we can come with technology, understanding, and awareness in a generation, how deeply impacted we are by the people in our families and communities, and how we can each make a difference in how we experience the world. 

By Claudia Marseille,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked But You Look So Normal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

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…


Book cover of And So, Ahmed Hears

Argyro Graphy Author Of The Adventures of Bentley Hippo: Inspiring Children to Accept Each Other

From my list on how disability does not define a person.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have seen a huge shift in the way others look at me and treat me since losing complete vision in one eye. I’m now labeled. It’s not fun, it’s disturbing and sad, and even though my appearance has slightly changed, I have not. “my disability does not define who I am” I may smile, but it doesn’t mean I don’t struggle and we can all use some kind words and encouragement and not be so judgmental.

Argyro's book list on how disability does not define a person

Argyro Graphy Why did Argyro love this book?

An amazing story of a little boy that lives and enjoys life as any other. Once discovered that he has hearing issues, and receives a hearing aid, he can enjoy life even more. A story that inspires us to be considerate of everyone as disabilities are not always visible.

By Dawn Doig,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked And So, Ahmed Hears as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ahmed is a little boy who spends his days with his family doing things he enjoys like going to the park and swimming in the ocean. Although he seems to be a typical two year old, mama has concerns that he may not be hearing. So off they go to the doctor and eventually to the audiologist who diagnoses a hearing loss. Fit with hearing aids, Ahmed is now able to enjoy the sounds of life. And So Ahmed Hears was written to increase public awareness about childhood hearing loss and to help alleviate some of the stigma associated with…


Book cover of Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music

Adriana Barton Author Of Wired for Music: A Search for Health and Joy Through the Science of Sound

From my list on memoirs on music that explore the agony and the ecstasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Music has been a passion ever since I joined my mother’s hippie jam sessions as a toddler. During my 17 years as a professional cellist-in-training, I tried Yo-Yo Ma’s Stradivarius and played Pachelbel’s Canon at a gazillion weddings. I even made it to Carnegie Hall, performing in a university orchestra on the gilded stage. But injuries, both physical and psychological, put an end to my classical music career. Trying to forget my cello years, I entered journalism, eventually becoming a staff health reporter at Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. Later, when a percussion workshop triggered a dramatic shift in my perspective, I answered the call to explore music in a more expansive way.

Adriana's book list on memoirs on music that explore the agony and the ecstasy

Adriana Barton Why did Adriana love this book?

Like most readers, I like my science sandwiched between stories.

Tim Falconer delivers a winsome tale of a writer diagnosed with “amusia"—the clinical term for “tone deafness”—who nevertheless longs to sing. Bashful yet determined, he delves into the science of auditory deficits and musicality on a quest to uncover why he can’t sing in tune, and whether anything can be done about it.

I couldn’t help but cheer him on as he endures remedial singing lessons and a nail-biting buildup to a public performance. Will he pull it off? And is there hope for other bad singers out there? I loved how Falconer used himself as Exhibit A to prove that even extreme tone deficits needn’t keep us from the joys of making music. 

By Tim Falconer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bad Singer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the tradition of Daniel Levitin's This Is Your Brain on Music and Oliver Sacks' Musicophilia, Bad Singer follows the delightful journey of Tim Falconer as he tries to overcome tone deafness - and along the way discovers what we're really hearing when we listen to music.

Tim Falconer, a self-confessed "bad singer," always wanted to make music, but soon after he starts singing lessons, he discovers that he's part of only 2.5 percent of the population afflicted with amusia - in other words, he is scientifically tone-deaf.

Bad Singer chronicles his quest to understand human evolution and music, the…


Book cover of Can Bears Ski?

Wanda Luthman Author Of Gloria and the Unicorn

From my list on kids with disabilities.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and I currently work as a High School Guidance Counselor for the past 25 years. I love kids and I love helping them to understand and love themselves and helping them to love and accept others as well. These books, even though the target audience is young (0-11 years old), older kids and adults can learn something from them as well. Sometimes a simple message is more powerful than a bunch of words.

Wanda's book list on kids with disabilities

Wanda Luthman Why did Wanda love this book?

This book is a picture book for a younger audience. Can you imagine being born deaf but no one around you knows it? That's what this book shows through a Bear who isn't responding to his friends when they speak to him. Fortunately, his Dad figures it out and takes him to a doctor where he is fitted with hearing aids. This book will help children that are deaf and their friends who may not always understand what it's like to be deaf.

By Raymond Antrobus, Polly Dunbar (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Can Bears Ski? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.

What is this book about?

The debut children's book from Ted Hughes award-winning poet Raymond Antrobus that tracks a father-and-son journey into the discovery and management of deafness.

This new paperback edition includes an illustrated BSL alphabet.

Boy Bear cannot hear Dad Bear coming to wake him up in the morning but he can feel the floor vibrate with his heavy footsteps. He can only grasp little bits of what his teacher says to him at school. He cannot catch what his friends are laughing at. And, all the time, Boy Bear keeps hearing the question, "Can Bears ski?" What does it mean? With the…


Book cover of Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha’s Vineyard

Meredith Eliassen Author Of Helen Keller: A Life in American History

From my list on disability and related inclusive movements.

Why am I passionate about this?

There have always been disabled people shaping my worldview and understanding, however, I am an expert only about my own disabilities. Disabled storytellers, including Helen Keller, sometimes utilize tactical silence to scream… I value that! However, barriers confronting the disabled require broad and sometimes loud collective action from many people in many communities and not just a marginalized few. Disability activism is a complex, tactical fight over time for self-determination that touches all of us at some point. COVID, world events, and experiencing some barriers disabled and marginalized groups face all the time have compelled me to share a few of my favorite reads related to disability and inclusion.

Meredith's book list on disability and related inclusive movements

Meredith Eliassen Why did Meredith love this book?

Paul Longmore assigned Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language for the “Disability in America” course I took. As a folklorist this book hooked me. It is totally unique, combining science (genetics), history, maritime culture, and community. It consolidates sign language “oral histories” documenting a Deaf community’s cultural heritage in Martha’s Vineyard passed through generations. Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language offers an essential message from this tight-knit community where deafness was more a trait than a disability. Understanding how Helen Keller had a Deafblind destiny shaped by her times (as earlier were Deafblind woman should be women Julia Brace and Laura Bridgman), I sometimes wonder if Keller would have been less stressed if she had not been pressured by proponents of auralism like Alexander Graham Bell to learn to speak aloud.

By Nora Ellen Groce,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the seventeenth century to the early years of the twentieth, the population of Martha's Vineyard manifested an extremely high rate of profound hereditary deafness. In stark contrast to the experience of most Deaf people in our own society, the Vineyarders who were born Deaf were so thoroughly integrated into the daily life of the community that they were not seen-and did not see themselves-as handicapped or as a group apart. Deaf people were included in all aspects of life, such as town politics, jobs, church affairs, and social life. How was this possible?

On the Vineyard, hearing and Deaf…


Book cover of Mighty Mila

Bobbie Hinman Author Of The Knot Fairy

From my list on children’s picture books by first-time authors.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a former teacher, and grandmother of 13 now-grownup kids, I can’t begin to count the total number of children’s books I’ve read. A gazillion maybe? I have published 5 children’s books of my own and have read them to hundreds of classes all over the U.S. I have been an editor of children’s books for about 10 years and feel honored every time an author hands their precious manuscript over to me for assistance. I’ve read so, so many amazing books. It was difficult to name just a handful, but these books spoke to me, evoking emotions that stayed with me long after the last i was dotted and t was crossed. I hope you will feel that as well.

Bobbie's book list on children’s picture books by first-time authors

Bobbie Hinman Why did Bobbie love this book?

I love children’s books that teach values through the words and actions of believable characters. This is one of my favorites. Based on a true story, little Mila has cochlear implants, yet wants to prove that she is every bit as bright, as strong, and as brave as any other child. Her goal is to do everything herself and never ask for help. But when faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge, she must prove how mighty she really is. Filled with bright, detailed illustrations that add so much to the story, this heartwarming tale is all about believing in yourself.

By Katie Petruzziello, Nadja Sarell (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mighty Mila as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Celebrate the power of believing in yourself with this multi-award winning, heartwarming and hilarious tale of a spunky deaf girl who’s determined to prove she can be a big kid!

Mila may be a kid, but she can act pretty grown up…at least that’s what she thinks. The trouble is, Mila’s parents still treat her like she’s little, so she’s decided to prove once and for all that she can do things “all on her own!” But when it turns out that being a big kid isn’t as easy as she thought, will Mila admit defeat, or will she find…


Book cover of Hear & Beyond: Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss
Book cover of Soundtrack of Silence: Love, Loss, and a Playlist for Life
Book cover of I'll Scream Later

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