Deaf-Blind Resource 

Words in My Hands,  A Teacher, A Deaf-Blind Man, An Unforgettable Journey

Bert Riedel, an eighty-six year-old deaf-blind pianist, cut off from the world since age forty-five, discovers a new life through tactile sign language.  This is a heartwarming narrative about the life changing power of american sign language communication told by Diane Chambers, Bert's sign language teacher.  Diane finds her world transformed as well by her relationship with her unique student.  Words in My Hands is the true story of their unforgettable journey. 

 While this true story illustrates psychosocial factors that complicate the disabilities of deafness and deaf-blindness, it carries an inspirational message as well. This book is a resource for educators, rehabilitation counselors, and other professionals who work or interact with the deaf, blind, elderly, or disabled.  It is for families who  deal with a member’s hearing loss, vision loss, or other disability.  This book shows how miracles can happen where there are dedicated professionals and caregivers. 

For anyone who wants to learn more about deaf-blindness, or how to improve your skills in communicating with deaf-blind persons, this book will help you gain insight into the world of the deaf-blind. You will discover techniques you can use in communicating with deaf-blind, or persons who are deaf with low vision, or hard of hearing and blind, or hard of hearing with low vision.

Letters from Readers: http://www.ellexapress.citymax.com/letters-from-readers_deaf-blind.html

 Breast Cancer Resource     

  Hearing the Stream, A Survivor's Journey into the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer 

This true story weaves together the author’s own story of her struggle with breast cancer  with those of five others also diagnosed. Through each of their eyes Chambers brings to life the complexities of this disease, from its emotional and physical impact to its sometimes hidden historical, economic, political, and environmental dimensions.  Chambers shows how bonds of sisterhood develop among the survivors, ironically bringing a great deal that is positive into their lives.

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Testimonial by Dr. Tim Byers, Deputy Director of the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center:  

http://www.ellexapress.citymax.com/breast-cancer-patient-survivor-advocate.html

SSPs: What Are They?

         An estimated 1.2 million Americans are both deaf, or hard of hearing, and visually impaired.  Dealing with this dual sensory loss can be challenging at the very least and devastating at its worst, causing profound isolation and loneliness.  Support Service Providers can make a huge difference in improving the quality of lives for people who are Deaf-Blind.

         This informative and engaging documentary portrays SSPs at work with Deaf-Blind individuals on a cruise to Alaska.  Personal testimonials by Donna Ragland of Morrison, Colorado, and other Deaf-Blind travelers from all over the United States, describe how support service providers enable them to access the world around them, participate in their communities, and maintain and enjoy an active life. 

$11.00 Contact Ellexa Press to purchase

Fragile Minds: An Advocate’s Story

After a series of traumatic events, including breast cancer and a two-year battle with anxiety and depression, Diane Chambers, a professional sign language interpreter, searches for a deeper understanding of mental illness and those who suffer from it. Taking her interpreting work into the trenches of the psychiatric communities, she comes to a rude awakening. Our laws are allowing thousands of individuals with serious mental illness to go without treatment. Too often the results are tragic. This astounding revelation sets her on an unexpected crusade to make a difference.

In her memoir, Fragile Minds: An Advocate’s Story, Chambers shares her experience and knowledge of mental illness and our system of care, including its flaws and politics, hoping to awaken others to the fight for reform of our laws.

Available at  Bookshop.org , Amazon, Barnes & Noble, 

 or Ingram