Book Review

When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes by Philip Zazove, M.D.

In his autobiography, When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes, Dr. Philip Zazove vividly relates his experiences growing up with a hearing impairment and working as a deaf doctor in a hearing world. These narratives include descriptions of his hard work and fight to get acceptance into medical school. Even during his medical training, he still had to face many challenges and barriers. Furthermore, as a physician with a private practice in Utah, he showed great dedication in overcoming his hearing disability. From reading his stories, it is not difficult to see what a caring physician Dr. Zazove is. He would exert extra effort into helping his patients, sometimes even leaving his office to attend to patients or driving long distances during "emergencies" to ensure that they receive appropriate care. He often shares interesting anecdotes of certain patients in his book, including some eccentric and some deaf patients. This makes for very entertaining reading.

His book entertains, educates, and encourages all at the same time. It will help any reader who is hearing to better understand the plight of people with a hearing disability. It will inspire any reader who is deaf or hearing-impaired to reflect on his or her own life. Every single person with a hearing impairment can relate to some of his narratives, regardless of profession. Most importantly, the story of Dr. Zazove's life conveys hope that deaf and hearing-impaired healthcare professionals and students can compete on an even keel with their hearing colleagues. While it may be true that people with a hearing disability have to work harder to accomplish the same things hearing people do, Dr. Zazove "would do it all over again just on the chance that it would make a difference." With his career and this book, he is indeed making a difference by, as he wrote, "help[ing] to destroy the stereotype that once prevailed about deaf people. He showed that they can do anything hearing people can, even be a doctor."

Nghi Lu ª
Medical Student
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

ª Nghi Lu is a second-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She has worn hearing aids for 15 years and now wears a cochlear implant. Nghi can be contacted at: nml@ucla.edu