Love for a Deaf Rebel introduces readers to Pearl, a vivacious Canadian born into a silent world. With pathos and nostalgia, the hearing author recounts his roller-coaster ride with a deaf maverick, who, unknown to him, had paranoid schizophrenia. We follow their encounters through actual conversations written before the author learned sign language; we go on their motorcycle ride to Guatemala; we watch as the happy couple moves to Bowen Island, a community with just three paved roads, where Pearl and the author marry and build their dream home and hobby farm. They encounter one obstacle after another while building their life together as Pearl’s perception of reality—and, crucially, their perception of each other—begins to change. There are other books about schizophrenia in the family, such as Hidden Valley Road , and about deaf–hearing relationships, such as Children of a Lesser God , but none that tells the true story of a woman who struggled with both disabilities, and her final tumultuous romance. “ The turn in events blind-sided me, and the tragedy of the situation made me realise what a privilege and a responsibility I had to convey your thoughts and words as well as possible. I found the book deeply personal and raw, a wonderful window into the world of the deaf. I found my hands moving involuntarily whenever I was voicing deaf characters. As things started to fall apart, I was deeply moved by how personal your account of that time was. By the end of the book, I was choking back my tears and having to re-record lines as I found my voice cracking on the recording. Thank you for trusting me to bring your book, and your journey, to audio. ”—Joe Vaz, Narrator Publishers Weekly Booklife Review: King's memoir, set in British Columbia in the late 1980s and early 1990s, opens in a mall food court, where young King is approached by Pearl, a charismatic deaf woman who's not shy about striking up a conversation with a stranger. Their chat, at first scribbled on napkins, flows easily, and a friendship blossoms. From there, interest in one another builds quickly, as they strike up a romance and King learns sign language in an attempt to strengthen their connection. When they move together to isolated Bowen Island, though, it becomes clear that Pearl's increasingly erratic behavior is an indication of schizophrenia. King tells this emotional story in crisp, quick prose, recounting major events with little transition between one day and the next: "Our lives changed quickly. Pearl moved in with me six months after we met. I reserved a U-Haul truck, collected cartons from the supermarket, and bought Pearl a negligee as a welcome gift." King omits excessive detail—in about twenty pages, roughly three years' worth of experiences ( the construction of a house, King's graduation with a MBA, and the couple's choice to get married) get laid out, which some readers might find jarring. What matters most, though, is King's openness about this relationship and his respect for Pearl's story, right up to its bittersweet finish. Too many narratives concerned with mental health focus intensely on the disorder itself, forgetting the person who is afflicted with it. Not so, here, as King takes pains throughout to capture Pearl as a vital presence as the couple rough it on Bowen Island, sharing a life of livestock and ferry rides. Readers interested in life with mental health issues can enjoy the insights and slight suspense in this honest story, which closes with a personal letter from Pearl's family and welcome commentary from King about how a sad ending for some can be a blessed beginning for others. Takeaway: A love story and memoir that touches on deafness, schizophrenia, and roughing it in isolated British Columbia. Great for fans of: Marin Sardy's The Edge of Every Day, Donna McDonald's The Art of Being Deaf. Clarion Foreword Review: Rating: 4 out of 5 Derrick King's powerful memoir Love for a Deaf Rebel is about how falling in love with a deaf woman changed his life. In the 1980s, King fell in love with Pearl, a beautiful, independent woman who was born deaf. They meet by chance: having lunch in the same food court, King was mesmerized by her elegance. They exchanged handwritten notes, through which Pearl opened herself up to King, describing the abuses she experienced and the difficulties that come with deafness, including having others believe her to be incapable of reacting to the world around her. At a slow, cautious rate, Pearl and King began having lunch a few times a week; their friendship deepened. At the same time, Pearl was seeing psychiatrists, though, and she was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. Despite his affection for her, King determined that he had to let Pearl go: "Watching Pearl collapse was like suffering the slow death of a partner with no way to say goodbye." King's love for Pearl is conveyed throughout in concise, accessible terms that capture the challenges of falling in