Deaf Utopia: A Memoir - And a Love Letter to a Way of Life
- Downloads：4251
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-22 10:51:46
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Nyle DiMarco
- ISBN：0063062356
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A heartfelt and inspiring memoir and Deaf culture anthem by Nyle DiMarco， actor， producer， two-time reality show winner， and cultural icon of the international Deaf community。
Before becoming the actor， producer， advocate， and model that people know today， Nyle DiMarco was half of a pair of Deaf twins born to a multi-generational Deaf family in Queens， New York。 At the hospital one day after he was born， Nyle “failed” his first test—a hearing test—to the joy and excitement of his parents。
In this moving and engrossing memoir， Nyle shares stories， both heartbreaking and humorous， of what it means to navigate a world built for hearing people。 From growing up in a rough-and-tumble childhood in Queens with his big and loving Italian-American family to where he is now， Nyle has always been driven to explore beyond the boundaries given him。
A college math major and athlete at Gallaudet—the famed university for the Deaf in Washington， DC—Nyle was drawn as a young man to acting， and dove headfirst into the reality show competitions America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars—ultimately winning both competitions。
Deaf Utopia is more than a memoir， it is a cultural anthem—a proud and defiant song of Deaf culture and a love letter to American Sign Language， Nyle’s primary language。 Through his stories and those of his Deaf brothers， parents， and grandparents， Nyle opens many windows into the Deaf experience。
Deaf Utopia is intimate， suspenseful， hilarious， eye-opening， and smart—both a memoir and a celebration of what makes Deaf culture unique and beautiful。
Before becoming the actor， producer， advocate， and model that people know today， Nyle DiMarco was half of a pair of Deaf twins born to a multi-generational Deaf family in Queens， New York。 At the hospital one day after he was born， Nyle “failed” his first test—a hearing test—to the joy and excitement of his parents。
In this moving and engrossing memoir， Nyle shares stories， both heartbreaking and humorous， of what it means to navigate a world built for hearing people。 From growing up in a rough-and-tumble childhood in Queens with his big and loving Italian-American family to where he is now， Nyle has always been driven to explore beyond the boundaries given him。
A college math major and athlete at Gallaudet—the famed university for the Deaf in Washington， DC—Nyle was drawn as a young man to acting， and dove headfirst into the reality show competitions America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars—ultimately winning both competitions。
Deaf Utopia is more than a memoir， it is a cultural anthem—a proud and defiant song of Deaf culture and a love letter to American Sign Language， Nyle’s primary language。 Through his stories and those of his Deaf brothers， parents， and grandparents， Nyle opens many windows into the Deaf experience。
Deaf Utopia is intimate， suspenseful， hilarious， eye-opening， and smart—both a memoir and a celebration of what makes Deaf culture unique and beautiful。
Reviews
Ginni
，
Surprisingly readable for a celebrity memoir。 I especially enjoyed the way the ASL is transcribed。 I wasn't familiar with Nyle DiMarco prior to reading this and had never watched America's Next Top Model or Dancing With the Stars， and I still enjoyed this glimpse into what it was like for him growing up Deaf in a Deaf family。 Even if it basically ends up being a giant plug for his upcoming Netflix series。。。（I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway。） Surprisingly readable for a celebrity memoir。 I especially enjoyed the way the ASL is transcribed。 I wasn't familiar with Nyle DiMarco prior to reading this and had never watched America's Next Top Model or Dancing With the Stars， and I still enjoyed this glimpse into what it was like for him growing up Deaf in a Deaf family。 Even if it basically ends up being a giant plug for his upcoming Netflix series。。。（I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway。） 。。。more
Kevin
，
Nyle DiMarco's inspiring and inventive memoir beautifully captures his joy of growing up， along with his twin brother， in a home with three other generations of Deaf family members and the frustrations of navigating a world designed for and run by hearing people。 The innovative way in which DiMarco and coauthor Robert Siebert tell these stories is by interspersing American Sign Language （ASL） into the English text。 What is known as ASL gloss is a transcription， sign by sign， of ASL on the page， Nyle DiMarco's inspiring and inventive memoir beautifully captures his joy of growing up， along with his twin brother， in a home with three other generations of Deaf family members and the frustrations of navigating a world designed for and run by hearing people。 The innovative way in which DiMarco and coauthor Robert Siebert tell these stories is by interspersing American Sign Language （ASL） into the English text。 What is known as ASL gloss is a transcription， sign by sign， of ASL on the page， and it is represented in the memoir in ALL CAPS。 ASL gloss has its own style rules， so it can be read initially as broken English。 But it reminds readers that ASL is syntactically different from spoken or written English。After graduating with a mathematics degree， DiMarco began freelance modeling and appeared on "America's Next Top Model" in 2015 and "Dancing with the Stars" the following year。 He won both competitions。 （The chapter on "DWTS" is a rollercoaster of emotions。） He was outed by a Deaf vlogger at age 26 and came out on Twitter as "sexually fluid。" This memoir affords him the space to explore his sexuality with much more depth and honesty。 Mixed in with his empowering autobiographical tales are fascinating historical facts and stories from Deaf history and culture。 He explains the difference between ASL and Signed Exact English （SEE）; how the average lip-reader captures only around 30% of a speaker's words; and the invention in the 1960s of the teletypewriter （TTY）， which could be considered a kind of text messaging between Deaf people using the machine。 DEAF UTOPIA is an empowering， eye-opening and beautifully expressed memoir。 DiMarco's remarkably thoughtful， confident and inspiring memoir is a real treat。 It's educational and unforgettable。 。。。more
Amy Weisbard-bloom
，
I won this book on Goodreads and I am so glad I did！ I first must admit I had no idea who Nyle was （I never watched ANTM or DWTS） but it doesn’t matter one bit。 Thank you Nyle for sharing your story， for teaching me and others about how wonderful， rich and diverse the deaf community is （like any other ocmmunity） and for being open about everything in your journey without being preachy。 If you like memoirs or want to learn more about a culturie you think you might know but perhaps do not， I highl I won this book on Goodreads and I am so glad I did！ I first must admit I had no idea who Nyle was （I never watched ANTM or DWTS） but it doesn’t matter one bit。 Thank you Nyle for sharing your story， for teaching me and others about how wonderful， rich and diverse the deaf community is （like any other ocmmunity） and for being open about everything in your journey without being preachy。 If you like memoirs or want to learn more about a culturie you think you might know but perhaps do not， I highly tecommend this book。 。。。more
Reneta
，
The first half of this book is super interesting and gives a clear and understandable way of how being raised in a Deaf family as a Deaf boy is。 I had watched DWTS the season Nyle won and so the back stories of his experience were very insightful。 Those were my favorite parts of the book。 However， I believe spending about half the book on his sexuality was too long， too much。 It is not difficult to understand the struggle he was going through internally， and he raised a valid issue that the Deaf The first half of this book is super interesting and gives a clear and understandable way of how being raised in a Deaf family as a Deaf boy is。 I had watched DWTS the season Nyle won and so the back stories of his experience were very insightful。 Those were my favorite parts of the book。 However， I believe spending about half the book on his sexuality was too long， too much。 It is not difficult to understand the struggle he was going through internally， and he raised a valid issue that the Deaf community can shut out/have minimal exposure to， certain life choices， like gay culture。 I applaud Nyle for bringing this to light， but think too many words were spent on this vs his time on the reality tv shows。 Nyle opened so many eyes in the tv audience with his way of communicating and excelling。 This is what is so impressive about this man。 。。。more
Reading Mama
，
"When you crack open these pages， you enter my world: the Deaf world。 It's a world within the ordinary world that you know。 The two worlds are not separate， but the Deaf world is distinct from the larger one。" @nyledimarco⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5！！ My latest Goodreads giveaway win arrived last week， and I couldn't wait to dive in。 I've been a fan of Nyle's ever since Switched at Birth。 In Deaf Utopia， Nyle talks about his upbringing in a multigenerational Deaf family in Queens， New York。 One of the things that I "When you crack open these pages， you enter my world: the Deaf world。 It's a world within the ordinary world that you know。 The two worlds are not separate， but the Deaf world is distinct from the larger one。" @nyledimarco⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5！！ My latest Goodreads giveaway win arrived last week， and I couldn't wait to dive in。 I've been a fan of Nyle's ever since Switched at Birth。 In Deaf Utopia， Nyle talks about his upbringing in a multigenerational Deaf family in Queens， New York。 One of the things that I loved about this memoir was that it was the perfect balance of heartwrenching and heartwarming。 Nyle also does an excellent job of bringing the reader into his world and explaining Deaf culture， ASL， and more。 He talks about his journey on ANTM （which I also watched）， and using his win as a springboard to advocate for Deaf culture， accessibility， and so much more。 Nyle recently produced Audible and Deaf U on Netflix。 I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about Deaf culture and experience。 Also， I'm still waiting for Nyle to star in a movie adaptation of Maybe， Someday by Colleen Hoover as Ridge。 😏 。。。more
Jordan
，
This was a deeply personal and honest memoir about Nyle's life in the Deaf community， but also about growing up in a Deaf family， his education， his abuse， his sexuality， and his career。 I really loved the bits of Deaf history interspersed with the personal anecdotes—many of the stories I remembered from my time studying ASL in high school。 I think the partnership with his co-author created some beautiful writing where translation was needed。 One of the most important things for me with a memoir This was a deeply personal and honest memoir about Nyle's life in the Deaf community， but also about growing up in a Deaf family， his education， his abuse， his sexuality， and his career。 I really loved the bits of Deaf history interspersed with the personal anecdotes—many of the stories I remembered from my time studying ASL in high school。 I think the partnership with his co-author created some beautiful writing where translation was needed。 One of the most important things for me with a memoir is that there is a level of introspection and self-reflection， and that was certainly the case here， especially when it comes to Nyle exploring his sexuality and his previously held misconceptions about what being queer means。 I think the ending could have used a little bit of work; it ended quite abruptly， and I would've loved a bit of a conclusion。 Overall， this gives a heartfelt and loving glimpse of what it's like to be Deaf in a world designed for hearing people。CW: child abuse， ableism， internalized homophobia， suicide 。。。more
Jennifer Schultz
，
Since I'm not a regular viewer of America's Next Top Model or Dancing With the Stars， I was unfamiliar with Nyle DiMarco's achievements on those shows。 However， I do have an interest in books that deal with deafness/Deaf Culture， which is why this caught my eye。 This is a remarkable， stirring， and eye-opening memoir of growing up Deaf in a mult-generational Deaf family。 DiMarco entwines Deaf History throughout his narrative， which enhances and enriches his story。 His thoughts on his gay sexualit Since I'm not a regular viewer of America's Next Top Model or Dancing With the Stars， I was unfamiliar with Nyle DiMarco's achievements on those shows。 However， I do have an interest in books that deal with deafness/Deaf Culture， which is why this caught my eye。 This is a remarkable， stirring， and eye-opening memoir of growing up Deaf in a mult-generational Deaf family。 DiMarco entwines Deaf History throughout his narrative， which enhances and enriches his story。 His thoughts on his gay sexuality and LGBTQ+ culture within the Deaf community， as well as issues that arose when he dated hearing gay men were intriguing。 Throughout， DiMarco asserts his pride in being Deaf as well as the challenges and inequities he and his family have faced， Librarians/booksellers: Readers who enjoy memoirs that entertain and educate will definitely want to read this。 Many thanks to William Morrow/Custom House and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Beth
，
#netgalleyarc I’m familiar with the author from his time in reality tv and was intrigued by his story。 This book is an open and honest look into his life and it was well-written。
Rachel
，