True Biz

Photo from: https://sara-novic.com/

True biz (adj./exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talk

Synposis: True biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges readers into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they’ll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who’s never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school’s golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the hearing headmistress, a CODA (child of deaf adult(s)) who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both. As a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find their lives inextricable from one another—and changed forever.

This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. Absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.

Review of True Biz and Insights

When this book came out, I was super excited about reading a book that had deaf people as the main characters. It was very exciting. All my friends immediately bought the book.

As I read the book, I saw comments pop up on Facebook saying they were disappointed in the point of view. It angered them. The thing I kept coming back to is that this is JUST one story of hundreds of thousands other stories. No story is alike.

One of the main storyline was Charlie had an cochlear implant (CI) and throughout the book, it really portrayed the CI in a negative light. You see, I have zero issues with it being portrayed in a negative light because in my world, I find that everyone who has a CI, loves it, and I honestly hate mine. So this point of view (POV) of this storyline where Charlie argues with her hearing mother about her CI is not unusual.

Parents back in the 80’s and still to this day, are not fully informed about what a CI does. Parents were basically told by doctors & nurses that this was a cure. Nowadays, parents are better educated by saying that it is a TOOL. Having a CI will not solve all the issues that come with being a deaf child. The stigma of having a child implanted with a cochlear is not as bad as it was in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

What I took issue with in the book was Charlie’s mom made zero effort to actually listen to her child and her issues with the cochlear implant. This is super common too! Sometimes parents are in denial about their kid being deaf that they will do anything to ensure that they have all the means necessary to succeed in life, even if it causes them distress.

I appreciated that Sara shared the Deaf history throughout the book to educate us. I actually did not have that education because I was immersed in the deaf world from when I was born. So that was a bonus to me. Parts where she talks about context with signing, that was something that was super natural to me since I grew up signing. There are some things that are learned when you’re part of the culture.

The thing that we all need to remember just as with CODA (the movie on Apple), is that this is ONE of many stories. There are kids have been implanted with a cochlear from a young age, and are super successful in and outside of the deaf community. There are others who have no tools, but are still super successful within the deaf community as well as outside of it. This book shared several different stories within the deaf community, and that’s what I truly appreciated about it.

I do want to share that I struggle greatly when it comes to the medical community, specifically doctors, nurses and audiologists. I was fortunate enough that my parents were able to get as much education about what to do with their 2 deaf daughters without any exposure to the deaf community prior to having us. They ensured that we had access to language from the start. However, not all parents are as fortunate to have that type of access or education. Access to sign language is one of the MOST important things any parents can give to their deaf child beyond their unconditional love.

As always, remember this is one story. Just as mine is one person’s story.

Grab your book here (I do not recommend the audio version, as you will miss out on the visual context that is shared in the book!)