Love for a Deaf Rebel (Print Edition): Schizophrenia on Bowen Island

By King, Derrick

Book Id: WPLBN0100303520
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 0.1 MB
Reproduction Date: 3/29/2021

Title:	Love for a Deaf Rebel (Print Edition): Schizophrenia on Bowen Island
Author:	King, Derrick
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Non Fiction, Medicine, Bowen Island, Clozapine, Cochlear, Deaf, Deafness, Delusion, Dialectical, Disability, Hearing, Hidden Valley Road, Children of a Lesser God, Mental health, Mental illness, Psychotic, Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Thorazine, Vancouver, Marriage, Love, Man-woman relationships, Deaf-Marriage, Mentally ill-Marriage, Deaf-Family relationships, Schizophrenics-Family relationships, Nonfiction Love Story, Romance Non-Fiction, True Romance
Collections:	Biographies, Authors Community
Historic Publication Date:	2021
Publisher:	Provenance Press

Member Page:	Derrick King
Citation APA MLA Chicago King, B. D. (2021). Love for a Deaf Rebel (Print Edition). Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
Love for a Deaf Rebel introduces readers to a vivacious Canadian woman who was born into a silent world and with the foundation for schizophrenia. There are other books about discovering schizophrenia in the family and about deaf woman-hearing man relationships, but none that tells the true story of a woman who struggled with both.

Summary
Love for a Deaf Rebel is the true story of a tumultuous romance. With pathos and nostalgia, the author recounts his roller-coaster ride with Pearl, a vivacious deaf maverick, who, unknown to him, had paranoid schizophrenia. We follow their encounters through actual notes written before Derrick learns sign language; we go on their motorcycle ride to Mexico and Guatemala; we watch as the happy couple moves to Bowen Island, a British Columbia community with just three paved roads. Pearl and the author marry and build their dream home and hobby farm. They encounter one obstacle after another while building their life together as Pearl’s perception of reality—and, crucially, their perception of each other—begins to change. The author learns what it means to be deaf, what it means to struggle with mental health, and what it means to love such a woman unconditionally—the ecstasy and the agony.

Excerpt
Pearl put her head on her hands and watched a ferry disappear around the point. She was still gazing at the ripples of water when the meal arrived. “Is something bothering you?” I asked again. The question hung in the air, and we ate without signing. When our ferry rounded the point, she signed. “Let’s go. We must unload the truck and put wood on the fire.” On the way home, I paused at the Oldsmobile parked in the cove so Pearl could drive it home. I drove home, changed, did the chores, and unloaded the sacks of feed in the barn. It was just above freezing. When I walked back to the house, Pearl wasn’t home, so no fire was burning, and the house was cold. I worried that the Oldsmobile had broken down again, so I drove to the cove in my farm clothes. The Oldsmobile was gone. I drove home slowly, looking for it at the sides of the roads. There were no streetlights on Bowen Island. Suddenly, the flashing blue emergency lights of the RCMP jeep came up behind me, and it rocketed past. I wondered where Laurent was going so quickly on a Friday night. I kept driving slowly, looking for Pearl. I couldn’t find her, so I went home to call the police. As I crested the driveway, my truck’s headlights came down to rest on Laurent’s jeep. Laurent stood in the kitchen. Pearl stood to his side and behind him. She looked agitated, explosive, and dangerous. “Hello, Laurent. What’s up?” I said without signing. “Interpret!” demanded Pearl. “Hello, Laurent. What’s happening?” I signed and said. “Your lips said something different! You must interpret exactly!” “Hello, Laurent. What is up?” I signed exactly, pointing up. The literal expression makes no more sense in ASL than it does in English. “Derrick, Pearl asked me to arrest you for trying to kill her.” My head started spinning. “Why?” was all I could say. “Interpret!” signed Pearl. I was the interpreter at my own inquisition. “Are you trying to kill Pearl?” “Don’t be ridiculous.” “She’s convinced you are.” “Arrest him!” “I need reasonable and probable grounds to believe you have been threatened by Derrick. When did he try to kill you?”

Table of Contents
1984: Passion Feb: Radar Under the Clock Apr: The First Time I Was Raped May: Shall We Be Magnificent Couple? Jun: A Silent Movie Jul: Pearl Hits Bull’s-Eye, Moves In Sep: Guatemala by Motorcycle Oct: Cocaine, My Life Is Fulfilled Dec: Engaged, The End of the World 1985: Adventure Jan: Leisure with a Quartz Watch Mar: The Benefits We Discussed Apr: Moving to Bowen Island May: Housebroken Jun: One Shot Can’t Be Traced Jul: Like Ricotta But Firmer Aug: Trout Lake Farm Oct: Men Can’t Be Trusted Nov: Rotate Windows, Get Married 1986: Newlyweds Jan: Winter Wonderland Mar: Rich Couple’s House May: Prairie Oysters Jun: Like Shooting Pigs in a Sty Jul: World Exposition Sep: Alberta School for the Deaf Oct: You Tried to Kill Me! Dec: First Anniversary 1987: Metamorphosis Jan: Pearl Calls Chicago Mar: I Want a Baby May: Fuck You, Pig Jul: Unhappy Campers Aug: Borrowed Semen Sep: Death by Television Oct: Book Panic, Car Terror Dec: Arrest Derrick! 1988: Paranoia Jan: Where Are the Bullets? Feb: How Did You Find Me? Mar: Your Little Black Book Jun: Hearing Strange Stories Aug: Psychological Abuse! Nov: Letters From Amsterdam 1989: Divorce Feb: Someone Switched the Diamonds Jul: Twice Divorced Nov: All the Awful Things 1990: Estrangement Mar: Absolved from Guilt May: You Wrote Me Three Letters 2020: Clarity Life on Her Own Fabrication of Reality Bequest of Deafness Jinx of Psychosis