Holding the galley copy of my book Hearing Happiness for the first time! This was in NYC for the meeting of the American Historical Association.
Jai testing out a 19th century mechanical ear trumpet. This version was marketed as “Miss Greene’s Hearing Horn” and was a cheap tin alternative to expensive versions.
“But I don’t know how to read?” Lizzie doesn’t know what a book is but she will gladly pose next to one if I ask her to.
An indian woman with shoulder length curly hair smiling and holding a copy of Disability and the Victorians.
A book with my name on the cover!
A woman's hand holding the yellow book of Hearing Happiness against a blurry background.
Liz Plank tweets: “What is it like to be deaf when everyone is obsessed with trying to fix you? @jaivirdi unpacks this and more in her beautiful new book. I highly recommend!”
Jai sits in the middle of a grey sofa smiling and looking at her copy of Hearing Happiness. to her right, Benny, a small white dog with one eye, is lying down and leaning against her leg. He is smiling. To Jai's right is Lizzie, a small white dog who is sitting up with a serious expression. There are copies of the book next to both dogs.
Benny and Lizzie join me for story time. They can’t read from their copies, so I’m reading to them.