I just finished reading "Train Go Sorry" for the second time. Well, really I want to say I sincerely read it for the first time, as my previous attempt was for assigned college reading during undergrad at Sacramento State University, California. Ms. Leah Hager Cohen's artistic tapestry weaving in and out of anecdote and biographical memoir created such a multi-faceted array of enlightenment, information, perspective, and impetus for further ponder. She has a knack for educating the reader in a way which is not patronizing, nor is it tedious in explanation. Her stories are clear, concise, and conclude in parable and metaphor congruous with the implicit message at hand.
I really feel like I know Sophia and her long hair and warbling Russian accent. I really feel like I know James and would congenially greet him on the street, admiring his gold jewelry. I really feel like I could shake Oscar Cohen's hand and agree with the arduous labor of his job, inadvertently sneaking a peep at his Bronx teeth. I could sense what it is like to grow up around a world painted in ASL and then struggle through the rite of passage into adulthood as a hearing woman, then back into the Deaf W O R L D.
I am looking forward to finding more books by Ms. Cohen. Thus far, I have unearthed her blog. Not all of her writing in its entirety is about the ASL and Deaf experience. Regardless I still find it intriguing and captivating.
It is helpful to read about the experiences of another woman in her efforts to become an interpreter. She poignantly discussed the same things I worry about, have encountered, have heard professors warn my class about, and analyzed myself during conversations with my Deaf friends. This makes me feel validated and also comforted that I am not the only one with these thoughts and reactions.
I wish there was a Part II to this story, to find out the post-high school lives of these Lexington School alumni.
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