Echoes of Jerry is the story of two outsiders in a family-one deaf man, the other a shy gay boy-and the silent bond that grew between them. The memoir turns on the deaf man’s death-and the impact of that death on that boy/man, who begins a journey that winds through the Deaf and gay communities and ultimately leads to the discovery of the author’s own voice as a writer and storyteller, one that his uncle would never hear.

In Echoes of Jerry, Judah Leblanc skillfully interweaves poignant stories of what it was like to be deaf or gay in twentieth century America. Leblang’s nimble prose allows readers to experience key scenes from his family’s life, whose details are then translated into universal questions of how one reconciles individual striving with the desire to belong to a commiunity.

A touching, intimate, ultimately inspirational read!

Deidre Leigh Barrett, author of the Committee of Sleep, faculty Harvard Medical School.