Deaf Utopia

A book review of Deaf Utopia: A Memoir – and a Love Letter to a Way of Life by Nyle DiMarco

Stars: *****

William Morrow Paperbacks (2023)
Memoir
336 pages

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

Summary: Before becoming the actor, producer, advocate, and model that people know today, Nyle DiMarco was half of a pair of Deaf twins born to a multi-generational Deaf family in Queens, New York. At the hospital one day after he was born, Nyle “failed” his first test—a hearing test—to the joy and excitement of his parents.

In this engrossing memoir, Nyle shares stories, both heartbreaking and humorous, of what it means to navigate a world built for hearing people. From growing up in a rough-and-tumble childhood in Queens with his big and loving Italian-American family to where he is now, Nyle has always been driven to explore beyond the boundaries given him. A college math major and athlete at Gallaudet—the famed university for the Deaf in Washington, DC—Nyle was drawn as a young man to acting, and dove headfirst into the reality show competitions America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars—ultimately winning both competitions.

Deaf Utopia is more than a memoir, it is a cultural anthem—a proud and defiant song of Deaf culture and a love letter to American Sign Language, Nyle’s primary language. Through his stories and those of his Deaf brothers, parents, and grandparents, Nyle opens many windows into the Deaf experience.

Deaf Utopia is intimate, suspenseful, hilarious, eye-opening, and smart—both a memoir and a celebration of what makes Deaf culture unique and beautiful.

Deaf Utopia

I asked for a copy of this book because my daughter is taking ASL and I wanted her to learn a bit about deaf culture as well. I had heard good things about this book.

According to my daughter the book was very interesting. It showed a deaf person’s perspective and memories from being a kid. Specifically how they navigate while being deaf things that we don’t think much about. It was very engaging. It was partly memories from the past and partly from now.

I have yet to read it but I plan to. I want to learn about deaf culture as well and I think this the book for that as he talks about key moments in deaf history as well.

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