Bridging Our Differences

Gerry S M Hughes

New Generation Publishing

£11.99

Scottish sailor Gerry Hughes was born profoundly deaf – misfortune enough, one might think. But this was compounded by an educational system which insisted that deaf children should be taught by lip reading, rather than in their natural language of signing. Gerry reached age 13 unable to read or write and fundamentally detached from his own identity. His struggles to learn (and to become a teacher himself) are horrifying. Sailing with his father off the west coast of Scotland was an altogether happier experience yet the barriers to independent achievement and recognition were almost equally daunting. Hughes suffered from depression but persevered. He was the first deaf yachtsman to complete the OSTAR – and then went further. An inspiring book.