The Shape of Sound

The Shape of Sound
Fiona Murphy
RRP:
NZ$ 40.00
Our Price:
NZ$ 32.00
Paperback
Not defined - 288pg
30 Mar 2021 AU
International import eta 7-19 days
9781922330512
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
I am still unlearning the habit of secrecy. And yet, whenever somebody discovers that I am deaf, my body still reacts with churning terror. How do you build up a sense of robust pride when your body has taught itself to be fearful? Fiona Murphy' s memoir about being deaf is a revelation. Secrets are heavy, burdensome things. Imagine carrying a secret that if exposed could jeopardise your chances of securing a job and make you a social outcast. Fiona Murphy kept her deafness a secret for over twenty-five years. But then, desperate to hold onto a career she' d worked hard to pursue, she tried hearing aids. Shocked by how the world sounded, she vowed never to wear them again. After an accident to her hand, she discovered that sign language could change her life, and that Deaf culture could be part of her identity. Just as Fiona thought she was beginning to truly accept her body, she was diagnosed with a rare condition that causes the bones of the ears to harden. She was steadily losing her residual hearing. The news left her reeling. Blending memoir with observations on the healthcare industry, The Shape of Sound is a story about the corrosive power of secrets, stigma and shame, and how deaf experiences and disability are shaped by economics, social policy, medicine and societal expectations. This is the story of how Fiona learns to listen to her body. If you enjoy the writing of Bri Lee and Fiona Wright, this is a book for you.
' I devoured this in a day, fascinated, enlightened, moved. ' * Helen Garner * ' In The Shape of Sound Fiona Murphy impressively turns the intimate yet inanimate sense of hearing into a tangible, tactical object to be shared and explored with readers. Through a personal lens, she investigates the social, environmental, economical and political impacts of deafness and disability with rigour, yet without ever losing a pervading humanity. The Shape of Sound is an impressive accomplishment, equally industrious and delicate, and an exciting addition to Australian disability literature. ' * Kylie Maslen * ' A unique voice that reveals the world anew. Mark the name Fiona Murphy. ' * Bri Li, author of Eggshell Skull * ' Fiona Murphy is a spectacular writer. Her memoir about keeping a medical secret close, then celebrating disability, Deaf identity and community, highlights the need to remove barriers to access and inclusion. The Shape of Sound is brilliant. ' * Carly Findlay, author of Say Hello * ' Powerfully written-books like this restore the world. ' * Sarah Krasnostein, author of The Trauma Cleaner * ' A beautifully crafted memoir describing the gifts of a life without sound. ' * Jessica White, author of Hearing Maud * ' I have been waiting for Fiona Murphy' s debut: a memoir about the lived experience of deafness and a developing understanding of disability as cultural identity. There is no reading The Shape of Sound without wishing that every Australian would read it too. ' * Sam Twyford-Moore, author of The Rapids * ' The Shape of Sound is a game-changer, a book that challenges assumptions not only about what it means to be deaf, but what it takes to truly listen, communicate and connect. ' * Angela Savage, author of Mother of Pearl * ' The Shape of Sound is an exquisite, eloquent and poetic memoir. Fiona Murphy draws the reader into a different sensory world, and provides a devastating critique of a society that all too often punishes disability. A damn fine read. ' * Astrid Edwards, host of Anonymous Was a Woman and The Garret: Writers on Writing * ' Full of heart and delving into what it means to inhabit flesh, blood, sound and movement. The Shape of Sound is definitely a book I will return to over the years, and gain more from with each read. A brilliant debut. ' * Katerina Bryant, author of Hysteria *
Fiona Murphy is a Deaf poet and essayist. Her work has been published in Kill Your Darlings, Overland, Griffith Review and the Big Issue, among other publications. In 2019, she was awarded the Overland Fair Australia Essay Prize and the Monash Undergraduate Creative Writing Prize. In 2018, she was shortlisted for the Richell Prize and highly commended by the Wheeler Centre Next Chapter program.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781922330512
Published: 30 Mar 2021
Published In: Australia
Imprint: Text Publishing Company
Publisher: Text Publishing
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288

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