McDONALD Donna
Am Ann Deaf. 2014;159(2):77-86. doi: 10.1353/aad.2014.0021.
In this essay, the author describes how, and why, she tackled a lifetime of questions about her deafness and experiences of being deaf by writing a memoir called The Art of Being Deaf. While researching her memoir, the author discovered that the questions about her deafness that she most needed to answer were her own. Having first read many memoirs by other deaf writers and novels with deaf characters, the author set about composing her own narrative of deafness in a fresh way. She not only came to an improved understanding of her deaf self, but grew into a more authentic understanding of her whole self, reconciling her memories of the deaf girl she once was with the adult deaf woman she is now. The author illustrates how the act of writing a memoir can be an important tool in resolving questions of identity.
在这篇文章中，作者描述了她如何以及为何通过撰写一本名为《聋之艺术》的回忆录来解决一生当中关于自己耳聋及聋人经历的诸多问题。在为她的回忆录做研究时，作者发现她最需要回答的关于自己耳聋的问题其实是她自己内心的问题。在首先阅读了许多其他聋人作家的回忆录以及有聋人角色的小说之后，作者开始以一种全新的方式创作她自己关于耳聋的叙述。她不仅对身为聋人的自己有了更好的理解，还对完整的自我有了更真实的认识，使她对曾经那个聋女孩的记忆与如今身为成年聋女的自己达成了和解。作者阐述了撰写回忆录这一行为如何能够成为解决身份认同问题的一项重要工具。
