Uncovering Deaf History: A Review of Show Me a Sign

In 1805, 11-year-old Mary Lambert lives in Chilmark, a village on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, where many of the residents – her included are Deaf. They came from Britain and passed their deafness through the generations, so that families like Mary’s have both hearing and deaf residents and communicate by sign language that they’ve developed and passed down as well. These families have also dispossessed the Wampanoag community, cheating them of common lands, and some of the leaders with the backing of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, are seeking to turn the remaining Wampanoag lands into individually-owned plots – a move that parallels the current regime’s unilateral dispossession of the Wampanoag people today (though the book was written earlier).

Ann Clare LeZotte’s debut novel for middle grade readers explores these complexities in compelling, concrete ways while portraying a bright, headstrong child dealing with the accidental death of her beloved older brother for which she feels responsible. Mary’s family seems to have fallen apart, her mother paralyzed by grief and resentment, and the wagon driver – the uncle of Mary’s best friend – has fled the island. Into this situation comes Andrew Noble, who claims to be researching the prevalence of deafness in Chilmark. He treats the Deaf residents as no better than recalcitrant animals, Mary most of all, a situation that results in further tragedy. Mary has to rely on all her resourcefulness and the kindness of strangers to survive.

Told in Mary’s first person voice, Show Me a Sign captures the language of the time through the eyes of someone who communicates primarily through signs. The own voices perspective means that Mary’s narrative retains a consistency throughout, often a problem when outsiders write fiction from the perspective of disabled characters. Readers learn that being Deaf is a different way of experiencing life but not a lesser way. LeZotte doesn’t shy away from unpleasant truths, such as people fleeing oppression becoming oppressors themselves, and thus raises important questions for discussion in a country still grappling with the original sins of dispossession, slavery, and genocide. Extensive back matter offers additional information about American Sign Language, hereditary deafness on Martha’s Vineyard, and the Wampanoag of the island. A standout work of historical fiction, Show Me a Sign belongs in every classroom, library, and home.