MindField by a Deaf Writer Published
To comprehend why I wrote “MindField”, it is always essential to explain just where I came from and what I’ve witnessed over the years of my life.
I was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi and have lived in New Orleans for five years as a child. I went to an oral school in New Orleans until the third grade and went to public schools with no interpreters or self-contained classes. I then went to Gallaudet after I completed my junior year.
I grew up with an 18 month older deaf brother who was my constant companion (as well as I was his) growing up in the hearing world, even though we had many hearing friends. We grew up adventurously.
When I went to Gallaudet in the summer of 1966, I learned sign language for the very first time. It was a visual language and I did not think that I would ever master using the language at the same level as a Deaf person. But, I stayed within the Deaf world and learned ASL with a lot of desire. By November of that year, some students asked me whether I went to a deaf school, and it made me realize that I was coming along alright. However, I never finished my studies at Gallaudet due to my mischievous and adventurousness personality.
But learning about life for me continued even up to now; reading many books and learning more about issues that interest me and I know it’s my curious nature that drives me to want to learn and want to achieve. I truly enjoy competing†against people to prove that I could do anything as anyone could set his/her mind to, regardless of hearing. This is true for when I fish on lakes and have become a professional Bass fisherman in competitive Pro/Am tournaments.
I am happily married to a deaf woman of 35 years with two grown Deaf adults, a daughter who is an Interim Principal at the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin and a son who is a Computer Lab Technician at the University of Minnesota. Along with this, my family continues to grow with two Deaf grandchildren.
What ultimately motivated me to write “MindField” was that I wanted to improve education for Deaf children. Because I have experienced Deaf education as a Deaf person and witnessing my children’s education, I realized I could put together a fictional, yet remarkably true story of how I could give a voice to such experience. Rather than telling others what I think about my experience and what I have witnessed as a Deaf parent of Deaf children in Deaf education, I decided that writing a story with its bits and pieces intertwined would be a more powerful message. This is why I wrote the book—because of my experience, my children’s, my grandchildren, and for all the Deaf children who deserve nothing but the best in terms of true cognitive language accessibility of two languages; ASL and English and how such shape citizens.Â
John EgbertÂ
            Â
                      MindField
What would happen if most American’s became deaf almost overnight? Chaos? Financial collapse? Both?MindField is a thrill ride, an incredible message of hope within a Tom Clancyesque novel. Perhaps the world would be better if we all had to listen with our only our hearts.
Book Description
What would happen if most of the people in America became deaf almost overnight? Chaos? Financial collapse? Anarchy?None of the above?
MindField is a thrill ride with a message; a premise torn right out of today’s headlines. A terrorist cell ignites an aerosol dispersion of what is thought to be deadly bacteria—spinal meningitis. It quickly spreads from a small town in Montana to nearly 30 states, eventually affecting more than three million people—an epidemic of nation-threatening proportions.
However, the problem isn’t death—it’s deaf. The physical symptoms of the disease disappear after three weeks, the only remaining tragedy is all those who are stricken become permanently deaf—a common side effect of spinal meningitis.
The United States is turned inside out, now a country where millions of the inhabitants can’t hear. An underground government is formed deep beneath the NORAD facilities in Colorado. A catastrophe of unimaginable proportions—or is it?
MindField is a fast paced, plot driven suspense novel with a pleasant surprising, and incredibly potent message about the way we might live our lives if we all had to listen with our eyes and hearts, and how the world might be a much better place for it.
To order, go to this site: http://egbertpress.com/
To comprehend why I wrote “MindField”, it is always essential to explain just where I came from and what I’ve witnessed over the years of my life.
I was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi and have lived in New Orleans for five years as a child. I went to an oral school in New Orleans until the third grade and went to public schools with no interpreters or self-contained classes. I then went to Gallaudet after I completed my junior year.
I grew up with an 18 month older deaf brother who was my constant companion (as well as I was his) growing up in the hearing world, even though we had many hearing friends. We grew up adventurously.
When I went to Gallaudet in the summer of 1966, I learned sign language for the very first time. It was a visual language and I did not think that I would ever master using the language at the same level as a Deaf person. But, I stayed within the Deaf world and learned ASL with a lot of desire. By November of that year, some students asked me whether I went to a deaf school, and it made me realize that I was coming along alright. However, I never finished my studies at Gallaudet due to my mischievous and adventurousness personality.
But learning about life for me continued even up to now; reading many books and learning more about issues that interest me and I know it’s my curious nature that drives me to want to learn and want to achieve. I truly enjoy competing†against people to prove that I could do anything as anyone could set his/her mind to, regardless of hearing. This is true for when I fish on lakes and have become a professional Bass fisherman in competitive Pro/Am tournaments.
I am happily married to a deaf woman of 35 years with two grown Deaf adults, a daughter who is an Interim Principal at the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin and a son who is a Computer Lab Technician at the University of Minnesota. Along with this, my family continues to grow with two Deaf grandchildren.
What ultimately motivated me to write “MindField” was that I wanted to improve education for Deaf children. Because I have experienced Deaf education as a Deaf person and witnessing my children’s education, I realized I could put together a fictional, yet remarkably true story of how I could give a voice to such experience. Rather than telling others what I think about my experience and what I have witnessed as a Deaf parent of Deaf children in Deaf education, I decided that writing a story with its bits and pieces intertwined would be a more powerful message. This is why I wrote the book—because of my experience, my children’s, my grandchildren, and for all the Deaf children who deserve nothing but the best in terms of true cognitive language accessibility of two languages; ASL and English and how such shape citizens.Â
John EgbertÂ
            Â
                      MindField
What would happen if most American’s became deaf almost overnight? Chaos? Financial collapse? Both?MindField is a thrill ride, an incredible message of hope within a Tom Clancyesque novel. Perhaps the world would be better if we all had to listen with our only our hearts.
Book Description
What would happen if most of the people in America became deaf almost overnight? Chaos? Financial collapse? Anarchy?None of the above?
MindField is a thrill ride with a message; a premise torn right out of today’s headlines. A terrorist cell ignites an aerosol dispersion of what is thought to be deadly bacteria—spinal meningitis. It quickly spreads from a small town in Montana to nearly 30 states, eventually affecting more than three million people—an epidemic of nation-threatening proportions.
However, the problem isn’t death—it’s deaf. The physical symptoms of the disease disappear after three weeks, the only remaining tragedy is all those who are stricken become permanently deaf—a common side effect of spinal meningitis.
The United States is turned inside out, now a country where millions of the inhabitants can’t hear. An underground government is formed deep beneath the NORAD facilities in Colorado. A catastrophe of unimaginable proportions—or is it?
MindField is a fast paced, plot driven suspense novel with a pleasant surprising, and incredibly potent message about the way we might live our lives if we all had to listen with our eyes and hearts, and how the world might be a much better place for it.
To order, go to this site: http://egbertpress.com/
