Overview

In today's world of very early identification of deafness, surgical implantation of cochlear implants and endless wireless technology and downloadable apps, Painting Bridges is magnificent in presenting a sensitive and accurate depiction of the 1970s. The novel presents a time when late identification of deafness was the norm, resulting in limited language and speech development, amplification equipment that was rudimentary and bulky, and deaf educators were at war with one another in pursuit of parents' hearts and minds. Patricia Averbach has written a great historical novel documenting a contentious period in deaf education. -Beverly A. Goldstein, Ph.D

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9781933964690

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Reviews

Painting Bridges explores themes ranging from grief and loss to what constitutes a family. It also explores the subject of deafness, and the politics of learning to speak versus sign language. Averbach handles this deftly, with characters speaking believable dialogue instead of heavy diatribes on each side of the issue.The author, a Cleveland native and winner of several prizes for poetry, also shows a gift for the structure of a novel. She creates vivid, believable characters, but keeps them humanly complex--no one is totally good or bad. Sam is heartbreaking and likable; we understand her grief and forgive her selfishness when she often forgets that Sheila is grieving, too. Sam's parents could have been cliches of rich, elitist parents--which they are--but they're also sincere in their love and concern for their depressed daughter. Other characters also spring to life, with sharp descriptions and insights. The book ends on an entirely satisfactory, if predictable, note and makes one hope that Averbach has plans for another novel soon.--Michele Ross (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Painting Bridges is a lovely exploration of the ways we grieve, and the ways we heal. -Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle and The Obituary Writer.......Pat Averbach's Painting Bridges is a graceful debut novel of grief and redemption. Part memorial, part love story, part coming-into-one's -own, it is a classic narrative that reaches out to every kind of reader. -Liz Rosenberg, author of The Laws of Gravity......Samantha doesn't want to talk to anyone until her life is turned up-side-down by a young deaf girl who can't talk at all. Patricia Averbach finds just the right details to pull us into Samantha's world that bridges Cleveland and rural Catawba County. Painting Bridges is an intimate, in-depth look at how we can climb out of the depth of loss to experience the world anew. -Sarah Willis, author of Somethings that Stay

Painting Bridges explores themes ranging from grief and loss to what constitutes a family. It also explores the subject of deafness, and the politics of learning to speak versus sign language. Averbach handles this deftly, with characters speaking believable dialogue instead of heavy diatribes on each side of the issue.<br><br><br><br>The author, a Cleveland native and winner of several prizes for poetry, also shows a gift for the structure of a novel. She creates vivid, believable characters, but keeps them humanly complex--no one is totally good or bad. Sam is heartbreaking and likable; we understand her grief and forgive her selfishness when she often forgets that Sheila is grieving, too. Sam's parents could have been cliches of rich, elitist parents--which they are--but they're also sincere in their love and concern for their depressed daughter. Other characters also spring to life, with sharp descriptions and insights. The book ends on an entirely satisfactory, if predictable, note and makes one hope that Averbach has plans for another novel soon.<br><br>--Michele Ross (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Painting Bridges is a lovely exploration of the ways we grieve, and the ways we heal. -Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle and The Obituary Writer.......Pat Averbach's Painting Bridges is a graceful debut novel of grief and redemption. Part memorial, part love story, part coming-into-one's -own, it is a classic narrative that reaches out to every kind of reader. -Liz Rosenberg, author of The Laws of Gravity......Samantha doesn't want to talk to anyone until her life is turned up-side-down by a young deaf girl who can't talk at all. Patricia Averbach finds just the right details to pull us into Samantha's world that bridges Cleveland and rural Catawba County. Painting Bridges is an intimate, in-depth look at how we can climb out of the depth of loss to experience the world anew.<br><br>-Sarah Willis, author of Somethings that Stay

Author Information

Patricia Averbach, a Cleveland native, is the former director of the Chautauqua Writers Center in Chautauqua, New York. She is the 2013 winner of the London-based Lumen/Camden Poetry Prize. As part of the prize, a poetry chapbook, Missing Persons, will be published late in 2013. Her previous work includes a memoir about her very early career as Anzia Yezierska's sixteen year old literary assistant, and an article about the Jewish community in a virtual world called Second Life. She holds a degree in speech pathology from Case Western Reserve University where she worked in a deaf nursery during the 1970s. She is married to Attorney Mark Averbach and is the mother of two grown daughters, Ann and Elana. This is her first novel.

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