Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults
In his memoir, David Sorensen explores his identity as a coda, or a child of Deaf adults. He describes his experiences with the roles often placed on codas at a young age, such as interpreter, confidant, and decision-maker. His story reveals a person seeking acceptance and belonging while straddling the Deaf and hearing worlds, and shows how he found reconciliation within himself and with both worlds.

       Sorensen relays the dynamics of his family life; he had a strained relationship with his father, who was an active leader and role model in the Deaf community and the Mormon Church, yet struggled to bond with his own son. Sorensen rebelled as a youth and left home as a teenager, completely detaching from the Deaf community. After struggling to establish himself as an independent adult, he discovered that he wanted to return to the Deaf world and use his ASL fluency and cultural understanding as a mental health therapist and community advocate. Now he considers himself an ambassador between the Deaf and hearing worlds, as well as between the older and younger generations of Deaf people. Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults shares the unique experiences of a coda and passes on the rich cultural past shared by the American Deaf community.
1130336752
Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults
In his memoir, David Sorensen explores his identity as a coda, or a child of Deaf adults. He describes his experiences with the roles often placed on codas at a young age, such as interpreter, confidant, and decision-maker. His story reveals a person seeking acceptance and belonging while straddling the Deaf and hearing worlds, and shows how he found reconciliation within himself and with both worlds.

       Sorensen relays the dynamics of his family life; he had a strained relationship with his father, who was an active leader and role model in the Deaf community and the Mormon Church, yet struggled to bond with his own son. Sorensen rebelled as a youth and left home as a teenager, completely detaching from the Deaf community. After struggling to establish himself as an independent adult, he discovered that he wanted to return to the Deaf world and use his ASL fluency and cultural understanding as a mental health therapist and community advocate. Now he considers himself an ambassador between the Deaf and hearing worlds, as well as between the older and younger generations of Deaf people. Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults shares the unique experiences of a coda and passes on the rich cultural past shared by the American Deaf community.
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Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults

Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults

by David Sorensen
Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults

Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults

by David Sorensen

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$29.95 
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Overview

In his memoir, David Sorensen explores his identity as a coda, or a child of Deaf adults. He describes his experiences with the roles often placed on codas at a young age, such as interpreter, confidant, and decision-maker. His story reveals a person seeking acceptance and belonging while straddling the Deaf and hearing worlds, and shows how he found reconciliation within himself and with both worlds.

       Sorensen relays the dynamics of his family life; he had a strained relationship with his father, who was an active leader and role model in the Deaf community and the Mormon Church, yet struggled to bond with his own son. Sorensen rebelled as a youth and left home as a teenager, completely detaching from the Deaf community. After struggling to establish himself as an independent adult, he discovered that he wanted to return to the Deaf world and use his ASL fluency and cultural understanding as a mental health therapist and community advocate. Now he considers himself an ambassador between the Deaf and hearing worlds, as well as between the older and younger generations of Deaf people. Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults shares the unique experiences of a coda and passes on the rich cultural past shared by the American Deaf community.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781944838539
Publisher: Gallaudet University Press
Publication date: 06/28/2019
Edition description: 1
Pages: 176
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

David Sorensen is the community liaison for the Deaf Program at Desert Hills Residential Treatment Facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Correspondence from My Homeland vii

Part 1 Home Country

1 Between Two Worlds 3

2 After the Words 5

3 Like Father, Not Like Son 11

Part 2 New Territory

4 Forming a Family 23

5 The Sibs 32

6 Breaking the Chains 47

7 Breaking Away 56

Part 3 Soul Searching

8 Quiet Anger 71

9 Soul Searching 83

10 A Return 91

11 Transitions 99

Part 4 Finding Home

12 I'm Professionally Deaf 111

13 On Being a Father, On Being a Husband 124

14 Claiming a Legacy 136

15 A Place in the World 145

Epilogue 159

Acknowledgments 169

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