The Sign for Home
A novel for adults
by Blair Fell
Published 2022
BR24152
A book review by GLS Outreach Librarian Sarah Trowbridge
Arlo Dilly is working on making some changes in his life. At 23, he is going back to school to improve his writing skills. Soon, he plans to leave on an extended mission trip to Ecuador with his church. He works hard every day to put the painful memories of the past behind him. Arlo is busy, motivated, and optimistic. He is also DeafBlind.
Arlo’s enrollment in a composition course at the community college calls for him to recruit a second interpreter to supplement the services of Molly, his longtime interpreter and assistant who is also a family friend and member of his church. Cyril Brewster, an experienced American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter who is also conversant in tactile signing, accepts the job. As the novel unfolds, the reader gets to know both Arlo and Cyril in chapters that alternate between their points of view. We gradually learn about the events (both joyful and traumatic) of Arlo’s childhood and teenage years and his strict religious upbringing, including the fact that he is still under the guardianship of his great-uncle, church leader Brother Birch. Cyril carries emotional baggage of his own, which leads him to cross the line from professional interpreter to advocate, friend, and (eventually) co-conspirator.
The memories Arlo just can’t seem to shake off are those of a mysterious girl he remembers only as “S,” a classmate at the school for the Deaf he attended in adolescence. In Arlo’s mind, S was the only person besides his late mother who ever truly loved him. The years since their story ended in tragedy have been hard ones indeed for Arlo. From his first day in writing class, things begin to change, and Arlo starts reexamining everything he believes. Through conversations with his instructor, with Cyril, and with others who come into (or return to) his life, Arlo gains a new understanding of his reality and embarks on a journey that will involve the participation of all his friends, both old and new. Adventure, danger, discovery, and wonder await all the characters, and they bring the reader along for a thrilling, satisfying ride.
Author Blair Fell, while neither Deaf nor blind himself, is a trained ASL interpreter and graduate of Gallaudet University. In The Sign for Home, Fell skillfully mingles comedy and drama in an engaging and complex story that centers a character not often encountered in mainstream fiction. Reading about Arlo Dilly’s life is educational for people who are uninformed about the day-to-day routines of DeafBlind individuals, while those who experience blindness and/or deafness themselves may find much of it personally relatable. In any case, many readers will find this unusual coming-of-age story both entertaining and insightful.
To find The Sign for Home in braille, search BARD for book number BR24152.