Finding Zoe: A Deaf Woman's Story of Identity, Love, and Adoption

Finding Zoe: A Deaf Woman's Story of Identity, Love, and Adoption

Finding Zoe: A Deaf Woman's Story of Identity, Love, and Adoption

Finding Zoe: A Deaf Woman's Story of Identity, Love, and Adoption

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Overview

At just a few months old, Zoe was gradually losing her hearing. Her adoptive parents loved her—yet agonized—feeling they couldn't handle raising a Deaf child. Would Zoe go back into the welfare system and spend her childhood hoping to find parents willing to adopt her? Or, would she be the long-sought answer to a mother's prayers?

Brandi Rarus was just 6 when spinal meningitis took away her hearing. Because she spoke well and easily adjusted to lip reading, she was mainstreamed in school and socialized primarily in the hearing community. Brandi was a popular, happy teen, but being fully part of every conversation was an ongoing struggle. She felt caught between two worlds—the Deaf and the hearing.

In college, Brandi embraced Deaf Culture along with the joys of complete and effortless communication with her peers. Brandi went on to become Miss Deaf America in 1988 and served as a spokesperson for her community. It was during her tenure as Miss Deaf America that Brandi met Tim, a leader of the Gallaudet Uprising in support of selecting the university's first Deaf president. The two went on to marry and had three hearing boys—the first non-deaf children born in Tim's family in 125 years.

Brandi was incredibly grateful to have her three wonderful sons, but couldn't shake the feeling something was missing. She didn't know that Zoe, a six-month-old Deaf baby girl caught in the foster care system, was desperately in need of a family unafraid of her different needs. Brandi found the answer to her prayers when fate brought her new adopted daughter into her life.

Set against the backdrop of Deaf America, Finding Zoe is an uplifting story of hope, adoption, and everyday miracles.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781950665785
Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.
Publication date: 09/01/2020
Pages: 288
Sales rank: 738,986
Product dimensions: 5.56(w) x 8.26(h) x 0.64(d)

About the Author

Brandi Rarus lost her hearing at age 6 after contracting spinal meningitis. From signing the National Anthem at a Chicago Cubs game to speaking at corporate conferences, she has traveled the country speaking out for Deaf children and building awareness of what it means to be Deaf.

Brandi's roots in advocacy began in 1988 when she marched to Capitol Hill with thousands of people representing the Deaf community in the Deaf President Now movement. The protest paved the way for the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, and changed the course of every deaf person's life. Today, Brandi is an executive with Communication Service for the Deaf, the largest nonprofit, worldwide organization serving the Deaf and hard of hearing community.

Brandi and her husband Tim live in Austin, Texas, with their four children: three hearing boys and the youngest, Zoe, their adopted Deaf daughter. Brandi and her family are tirelessly dedicated to ensuring all children find their rightful place in our world.

Award-winning writer and teacher of the intuitive process, Gail Harris has experienced the joy of adopting a child. She brings her knowledge of the adoption process and in-vitro fertilization to this book, along with her ability to articulate from a hearing person's perspective what is fascinating about the Deaf experience. In the four years that it took to write Finding Zoe, Gail conducted more than 75 interviews to uncover. Gail is the author of Your Heart Knows the Answer and a featured blogger on several popular parenting blogs. She lives with her husband and son in Framingham, MA.

Table of Contents

Foreword xiii

Preface xvii

Part I My Winding Road

Prologue 3

Chapter 1 Suddenly Soundless 5

Chapter 2 Changed by a Deaf Priest 26

Chapter 3 Deaf President Now 43

Chapter 4 Full Circle 69

Chapter 5 Our Family Hears 94

Part II The Roads of Others

Chapter 6 Jess and BJ 111

Chapter 7 Love's Sacrifice 137

Chapter 8 The Right Thing to Do 175

Part III The Roads Converge

Chapter 9 Providence Provides 195

Chapter 10 Waiting All Our Lives 213

Epilogue 233

Acknowledgments 255

About the Authors 263

Resources 265

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