2024 IPPY Awards Gold Winner in Best First Book (Nonfiction/Personal) By age four, Claudia Marseille had hardly uttered a word. When her parents finally had her hearing tested and learned she had a severe hearing loss, they chose to mainstream her, hoping this would offer her the most “normal” childhood possible. With the help of a primitive hearing aid, Claudia worked hard to learn to hear, lipread, and speak even as she tried to hide her disability in order to fit in. As a result, she was often misunderstood, lonely, and isolated—fitting into neither the hearing world nor the Deaf culture. This memoir explores Claudia’s relationships with her German refugee parents—a disturbed, psychoanalyst father obsessed over various harebrained projects and moneymaking schemes and a Jewish mother who had survived the Holocaust in Munich—and with her own identity. Claudia shares how she emerged from loneliness and social isolation, explored her Jewish identity, struggled to find a career compatible with hearing loss, and eventually opened herself to a life of creativity and love. But You Look So Normal is the inspiring story of a life affected but not defined by an invisible disability. It is a journey through family, loss, shame, identity, love, and healing as Claudia finally, joyfully, finds her place in the world. “Marseille is a clear, expressive writer . . . this is an elegantly written memoir that raises awareness and will empower others.” — Kirkus Reviews “ But You Look So Normal  is a triumphant, encouraging coming-of-age story for those who have faced the challenges of living with a disability and an eye-opening read for those who have not. It is a heart-rending story but also an account of fortitude and success.” — Readers’ Favorite , 5 stars “A clear-eyed look at the pervasive influence of hearing loss on almost every aspect of life. In her memoir, Claudia Marseille’s creative zest for life triumphs over what some might consider a disability, and she candidly sets her struggles alongside the story of her relationship with European parents still living under the shadow of the Holocaust. A wonderful, poignant read!” —Gael Hannan, advocate, author of The Way I Hear It: A Life with Hearing Loss , and coauthor of Hear & Beyond: Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss “ But You Look So Normal is a beautifully written, utterly honest memoir about the experience of growing up with a silent disability. It is a testament to resilience and the power of honesty, forgiveness, and self-discovery through human relationships and art. It is a must-read for clinicians and anyone afflicted by or interested in the experience of difference.” —Harriet Wolfe, MD, President of the International Psychoanalytical Association “Marseille’s memoir is a beautifully told, nostalgic portrayal of a 1950s childhood with a severe hearing loss. Born at a time when hearing aids were crude amplifiers, Claudia had to deal with loneliness at school, social gatherings, and professional demands. She finally learned to tell others about her hearing loss and find meaning in a loving marriage and a successful career as a painter. Hers is an evocative story of resilience, and her challenges will resonate with anyone who has experienced hearing loss.” —Katherine Bouton, president of the Hearing Loss Association of America, NYC Chapter, and author of Shouting Won’t Help and Smart Hearing “Claudia boldly shares with us a heartwarming story, unveiling the challenges of a significant and isolating disability and heartbreaking insights into complicated relationships. Her persistence to overcome these obstacles and ‘fit in’ help us grow to deeply appreciate her numerous natural talents, bravery, beauty, all within the threads of a grounded and humble woman—who may not fully appreciate her incredible brilliance.” —Jill Ellis , MEd, cofounder of Center for Early intervention on Deafness “Marseille’s skilled, down-to-earth, deeply moving, and bravely intimate storytelling is a captivating look at the profound lifelong impacts of growing up and finding one’s way as an adult with a severe hearing loss in a hearing world. Yet, while hearing loss is central to her story, it is also about the many experiences that has created the tapestry of a life rich with complex relationships, passionate artistic talent and profound personal growth.” —Rachel Dash, Faculty Emeritus, West Virginia School of Medicine, Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry “Marseille creates a vivid picture of what it meant to grow up with hearing loss—the complexities, the sadness, the frustrations. Marseille is special and so is her story. She traversed a world that wasn’t built for her and in her journey she found her true, authentic self. This is a story you will want to hear for yourself.” —Susanna Storm, AuD, CCC-A, audiologist at Blue Sky Hearing “A well-written and indispensable book about the author’s journey from silence to sound. A must read