[This giveaway will be extended through midnight, Wednesday, May 16th, because Krysty was away from an Internet connection on the 15th. (Oops! My bad!) So, you can comment on the post for the 16th and this post and I will choose both winners on the 17th. Thanks!]
I have known Krysty for years, so it was really a delight to work with her on an e-book project that is near and dear to her heart. Krysty’s son was diagnosed with late-onset hearing loss when he was three years old. Shortly thereafter, Krysty was also diagnosed with hearing loss. Krysty’s e-book addresses not only the important concerns that parents have when their child is diagnosed with late onset hearing loss, but also the emotional challenges that come with an unexpected diagnosis. I hope you will help spread the word about this compassionate, helpful e-book. Thanks for helping me welcome Krysty!
About Krysty Krywko
I am a writer and education researcher who specializes in hearing loss and the impact it has on children and families. I write from a parental, as well as a personal, perspective, as my young son and I were diagnosed with hearing loss one year apart.
I hold an Ed. D in International Education Development from Teachers College, Columbia University; where I was a Spencer Fellow for the 2005 cohort. After ten years of early childhood teaching experience, my current research interests include: hearing loss, brain development and the impact on literacy; how hearing loss affects learning in the classroom and making schools hearing-accessible; raising public awareness of hearing loss detection and treatment; and community and parent involvement.
I am the author of the blog Ear to the Ground. You can find my blog, and other articles I have written, at my website www.lateonsethearingloss.org.
About Late-onset Hearing Loss: A Parent’s Perspective
Your child has been diagnosed with late onset hearing loss, now what? I am sure you are feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, and a million questions are racing through your head.
I am here to tell you that it will all be okay. Sit down and take a deep breath. There is a long road ahead of you, I won’t tell you that it will be easy, but I will tell you that both you and your child have strengths that you have not even recognized yet. My e-book offers a “from the trenches” perspective that will walk you through the emotions that are involved from the moment of diagnosis and will help you learn to cope with these emotions so that you are able to move ahead and be there for your child.
This e-book is geared towards parents whose children have some residual hearing and who will be aided – either through hearing aids, cochlear implants, or a baha device. The intent is to educate and inform, without overwhelming.
The Very Short Interview
When did you know for sure that you were a writer and that writing would be a major energy focus in your life?
I have always wanted to be a writer, but it wasn’t until I began teaching writing to 1st grade students that I began to think about myself as a writer. It was during graduate school that I began to really take ownership of the writing and researching that I was doing.
Who has always been behind your writing career and who helped pull you up the ladder of success?
I am lucky to have two people: my mother and my husband. My mother was my first editor and really taught me a lot on how to shape a piece. My husband has always encouraged me to pursue my writing and was one of the first people to take my work seriously.
What is the most frequent comment you hear about your book (or books) from readers? Tell us a little story about the response to your work.
The most frequent comment that I hear is how approachable I make the topic of hearing loss. It can be a pretty stressful time when you first learn that your child has hearing loss. Since 90% of children with hearing loss are born to hearing parents, it is really like entering foreign territory for so many families. Readers have told me the book really helped them deal with the emotions that are involved in the diagnosis; something that often becomes lost in the rush to make treatment and education decisions.
And Now, Your Turn
Now it’s your turn. You remember how this works right?
I ask you a question. You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.
Please just respond once, even if you make a typo. 
Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books). Please read the complete rules at least once!
Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway! I hope to see you here every day this month. Bring your friends!
We have been talking about admirable qualities. So let’s keep going! Name a writer you admire and list his or her admirable qualities…on the page. What about this person’s writing makes him or her a total original?
Ready, set, comment!
Comments on this entry are closed.
So excited to finally be able to participate
again! I was having some internet trouble, but just got it resolved. Anyway…
Lately, most of my reading revolves around
reference books (which I really enjoy!). So naturally, the first writers that
come to mind as an answer to your question are the authors of those reference
books. There are three at the top of my list: Christina Katz, Linda
Formichelli, and Kelly James-Enger.
It was Christina’s book, Writer Mama, that led me
to writing for publication. And one large reason for that was that her message
– it’s possible to parent and write – was laid out in such detail and with such
a kind, guiding voice that I knew I had found my calling.
Linda’s writing shows how knowledgeable she is in
her field, and explodes with energy and detail.
Kelly’s writing feels like an informed friend,
sharing her expertise in simple, easy-to-understand terms.
This is just skimming the surface in regards to the qualities I admire in these writers. 🙂
When I’m reading nonfiction, I really like writers who can take a difficult topic and make it read like any good story. I loved how Vanessa Woods did this in Bonobo Handshake, and I also like how Malcolm Gladwell does it in his books. In fiction, my favorite author of all time is Gore Vidal. He’s irreverant, wickedly satirical, and I feel like I can count on his historical accuracy on details.
What a coincidence that my post follows yours, since I quoted from your interview with Markus Zusak, the writer I most admire.
I admire Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief. Death, the novel’s narrator, says, “It’s a small story really, about, among other things:* A girl* Some words* An accordionist* Some fanatical Germans* A Jewish fist fighter* And quite a lot of thievery”.
I admire that Zusak puts so much care into the writing. He’s an incredible storyteller. He slips completely unexpected words into his analogies — so much so that my copy of The Book Thief bleeds yellow highlighter. In Cindy Hudson’s interview with Zusak, he said, “People know when your heart is in a book . . .There are two magic acts I want to pull off when I write. One is creating a feeling that when you’re inside a book, you believe everything you’re reading even when you know it’s not true. And the second is an extension of that, which is you know it’s not true, you know it’s not real, but you believe it anyway.” My son, a creative writing major, gave this book to me for Christmas. I hope someday one of us will write as well as Zusak.
I admire memoirist Kim Kircher, author of “The Next Fifteen Minutes.” Her memoir poignantly shares how she survived her struggle with her husband’s liver cancer and transplant by focusing on what’s right in front of her, just 15 minutes at a time. Her amazing attitude, developed through her life experience as a ski patroller and avalanche control explosives tech and EMT, shine through every chapter. Her writing is deft and I learned a lot about the use of simile and metaphor from her heartfelt words.
So many rush into my head I can hardly pick one, so I’ll write about the one that first came to mind: Kevin Sampsell. I read his book “A Common Pornography” to be polite when I met him at the Northwest Author Series. It didn’t sound like my kind of book. I was surprised to fall in love with the rawness of it. The style of his story-telling was unique in that the chapters were short vignettes of his life strung together but also because he was so … honest and somehow still gracious.
I really admire Geraldine Brooks’ work. From her Nine Parts of Desire, based on her experience
of living with Muslim women in the Middle East to March, which won the Pulitzer
Prize, as a reader I feel she’s truly passionate about whatever she is writing.
Turns out her childhood love of Little Women led her to research the American
civil war and use that backdrop to set March, which follows Mr. March, the absent father in Little Women. Her writing sings with a sense of reality.