"An American classic."
~Suzanne Gulick, artist
"Fresh and vivid...Roger is a clear-eyed, down-to-earth narrator who values doing the right thing while dealing with considerable demons of his own."
~Kirkus reviews
"Beautifully written and touches every emotion. Much wisdom in these pages...a deeply thoughtful, compelling, and at times hilarious journey. In these times especially, we can identify with, root for and learn from the main character, his family, and friends. This is an American story."
~Suzanne Uvino, Goodreads review
"There are many excellent female characters in this story...Memphis only makes a brief appearance, but the character shines with incredible depth. Haymes imbues her with a masterful combination of tenderness, vulnerability, and inner strength. While these female characters are masterfully crafted and important to the story, this is a man's book -- or a book for women who genuinely wish to understand a man's heart.
"Through Roger, the author explores deafness—the science, the experience, its culture, and its challenges. A key lesson expressed in the story is that, when communicating with someone on the 'deaf spectrum,' the concepts of 'Visibility, Noise, and Distance' are critical to ensure clear communication. Roger repeats this mantra to hearing people throughout the book's second half, sometimes patiently and sometimes in anger. While this is clearly important in Deaf culture, its lessons for us 'normies' are profound. 'Visibility, Noise, and Distance' applies to all human relationships. First, truly see the person you care for, then eliminate those distractions (noise) that interfere with clear communication, and finally draw close to one another (both physically and emotionally).
"Haymes can wrap up a chapter with the best of them. He drops some incredible lines in this novel that made me put down the book and simply ponder what I had just read...It is some of the best writing I've encountered in years."
~Brian L. Braden, Rule One Book Reviews
"Roger, like his grandfather, becomes deaf and they both learn from each other and the Deaf community. Roger teaches us how to communicate with a deaf person. It is a valuable lesson. I found this book very well written."
~Joyce Steis, Goodreads review