I Can Hear You Whisper

An Intimate Journey Through the Science of Sound and Language

By: Lydia Denworth

Narrated by: Karen Saltus

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Lydia Denworth’s third son, Alex, was nearly two when he was identified with significant hearing loss that was likely to get worse. Her sweet boy with the big brown eyes had probably never heard her lullabies. Denworth knew the importance of enrichment to the developing brain but had never contemplated the opposite: Deprivation. How would a child’s brain grow outside the world of sound most of us take for granted? How would he communicate? Would he learn to read and write - weren’t phonics a key to literacy? How long did they have until Alex’s brain changed irrevocably? In her drive to understand the choices - starting with the angry debate between supporters of American Sign Language and the controversial but revolutionary cochlear implant - Denworth soon found that every decision carried weighty scientific, social, and even political implications. As she grappled with the complex collisions between the emerging field of brain plasticity, the possibilities of modern technology, and the changing culture of the deaf community, she gained a new appreciation of the exquisite relationship between sound, language, and learning. It became clear that Alex’s ears - and indeed everyone’s - were just the beginning. An acclaimed science journalist as well as a mother, Denworth interviewed the world’s experts on language development, inventors of ground-breaking technology, Deaf leaders, and neuroscientists at the frontiers of research. She presents insights from studies of everything from at-risk kids in Head Start to noisy cocktail party conversation, from songbirds to signal processing, and from the invention of the telephone to sign language. Weaving together tales from the centuries-long quest to develop the cochlear implant and simultaneous leaps in neuroscientific knowledge against a tumultuous backdrop of identity politics, I Can Hear You Whisper shows how sound sculpts our children’s brains and the life-changing consequences of that delicate process.

©2014 Lydia Denworth (P)2014 Gildan Media LLC

Terrific History of Sound

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely! As someone who is blind, sound is one of my best allies in navigating the world around me. This book is by terms personal and scientific, and definitely not a dry read.

Any additional comments?

The author's son is profoundly deaf. When she learned this, she asked questions - lots of questions - and over several years visited many in the deaf/Hard-of-hearing community. There are many viewpoints about deafness - from embracing or demonizing cochlear implants, to sign language or oral speech - and all shades in between. I found myself fascinated with the scientific information.
This book is a solid work, both personal and scientific, but it falls slightly short on both. During some of the scientific data, I found myself wanting to learn more about the author's son Alex and his experience, and during some of the personal passages I wanted to understand some of the science behind it. Perhaps that should make it a five-star listen, but for me, it ALMOST unqualifiedly succeeds at both.