Mother Tongue: A Memoir

The New York Times bestselling author of True Biz retraces her path out of the hearing world and into the deaf community--and seeks to understand what it means to raise children who are different from her--in this emotionally rich memoir.

"In this enraging history and big-hearted family saga, Sara Novic has skillfully subverted the dividing lines of identity, her deafness becoming the thread that connects us all."--Sierra Crane Murdoch, author of Yellow Bird

Sara Novic's early years were steeped in music, Bible study, and a strong desire to fit in. But when she failed her school's mandated hearing test, her worldview was thrown into chaos. Desperate not to be marked as different, she told no one, staying in the hearing world for as long as she could by brute force.

Eventually unable to ignore the fact that she was deaf, Novic sought out other deaf people and was welcomed into a tight knit community rooted in the beauty and joy of American Sign Language. Novic realized that rather than maintaining the facade of her old life or trying to straddle two worlds, she would need to cultivate an existence in the space between.

Now the mother of two young sons--one, biological and hearing, the other, adopted and deaf--Novic reflects on her life both before and after parenthood. She's raising her children within the deaf world, offering them things her younger self needed, all the while knowing that as her children grow, their own paths will branch off from hers in ways she cannot fully predict or plan for.

Interwoven with Novic's personal story is a remarkable portrait of America through reflections on some of its most complex histories: the rise of the Christian right, the thorny world of international adoption, and above all, the deaf and disabled communities' stubborn survival in the face of persistent oppression.

Novic's clear, bold voice is one readers will hold onto, learn from, argue with, and be inspired by, as she asks us to recognize difference as a source of opportunity rather than fear, as a chance to draw families and communities together, and to build something new.

Author: Sara Novic
Publisher: Random House
Published: 05/05/2026
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780593241530


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 04/01/2026
Publishers Weekly 03/02/2026
Library Journal 04/01/2026 pg. 76
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001

About the Author
Sara Novic is the author of the New York Times bestseller True Biz and Girl at War, both of which won the American Library Association's Alex Award. She is an activist and an instructor of deaf studies and creative writing, and lives in Pennsylvania with her family.