Book Description

Imagine having a baby and having to ask yourself, "Will I ever hear her call me Mom?" When Jeanine Gleba found out her daughter Grace was born severely hard of hearing, she could not fathom her world of silence. Eventually she and her husband, Bill plowed forward as they realized there is nothing they could do but focus on, what can they do to help her? Their lives changed when they met an educator who told them, "Your daughter will talk. We live in a hearing world. She can learn to speak like her family and everyone else in the world." Jeanine and her daughter Grace not only find a way to embrace living with Grace's hearing loss, but gain a sense of empowerment as they fight a grassroots battle for nine years to pass a law reimbursing families for costly children's hearing aids. For years their words fell on deaf ears, and against all odds with patience, persistence and a "never give up" attitude they changed legislation. The ups and downs of the story ranges from Grace persuading legislators to hold up "Yes" or "No" signs so she could know how they voted to having one of the bill's strongest advocates in the legislature arrested for child pornography before a crucial vote. Written in the tradition of stories like Erin Brockovich and Norma Rae, this story is about a woman who stood up for her rights and the rights of others - and won.