Non-Fiction Indie Review – The Frustrations of Being Deaf by Dave Blackwell

I usually don’t read non-fiction books, but I’m glad I picked this one up. I give it five stars because it was well-written and placed me in the scenes instead of just telling a story.

The Frustrations of Being Deaf is a compilation of short stories about incidents that happened throughout Dave Blackwell’s life. He also writes about his cochlear implant.

I enjoyed the book, spending a lot of time in awe of how stupid some people are. He diffuses many situations using humor, but some people go too far. One lady thought she could “catch his deafness” and others treat him like he’s lacking intelligence because he can’t hear—when their actions prove they’re the ones with a problem.

Comedian Bill Engvall has a “Here’s your sign” skit where he’d like to give a sign to stupid people so nobody else has to waste their time talking to them.

Mr. Blackwell would’ve handed out a lot of signs. Pennywise the Dancing Clown, an ex-coworker of his, should definitely wear a sign.

If you like non-fiction, would like to understand some of the problems hearing-impaired people run into, or just want to read a good book, pick up a copy.