Writing By Laura

The past few years I have gotten involved (each year I have taken on more duties, etc.) in my local chapter of Hearing Loss Association of America- Twin Cities Chapter (HLAA-TC). After I suffered my severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) hearing loss and constant aural distortions have been the biggest long term disability from the brain injury. HLAA and HLAA-TC take the stigma and questions out of hearing loss by offering endless resources (like the monthly chapter meetings of HLAA-TC) and webinars and articles by HLAA.

This June HLAA is putting on a 5K Walk to raise funds and awareness for hearing loss called the Twin Cities Walk4Hearing here in Como Park in St. Paul, Minnesota. I have started a team and am raising funds for my local chapter, HLAA-TC.

If you are able and so inclined to help in any way (donate, offer me words of encouragement, etc.) you can visit my Walk4Hearing page: https://www.walk4hearing.org/participant/BookClub

My Walk Team is the “HLAA-TC Book Club” because a couple years ago I started a Zoom book club where we alternate reading fiction and nonfiction books usually featuring deafness, hearing loss or disability. I just counted and we have read 28 books and had 12 authors/guests join us (virtually on Zoom, of course). Look at me FINALLY using my Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree!! I released the reading order for 2024 and am starting to arrange author guests. I have a few lined up already (but I haven’t officially announced them yet). If you’re ever interested in joining us these book clubs are free and open to all and accessible (closed captions are available). Visit our book club page if you’re curious or interested: https://www.hlaatc.org/book-club/

Just like brain injury, hearing loss is very much a part of my post-TBI story and it’s a story I continue to write page by page and live day by day.

Memoir Writing Update

In 2023 and early 2024 I took part in a few memoir writing classes through Meet Up that have helped me so much! I have made great progress but still have a long ways to go. I just got a new laptop and have started regularly writing via Speech to Text so I am spending less time looking at screens. A piece written by a blogging and memoirist friend, Karen Debonis, on using speech to text to write helped inspire me to incorporate that into my regular writing routine, thanks Karen! It’s perfect for my tired and overstimulated but always thinking TBI brain. (Speaking of Karen, she wrote a memoir that was recently published: “Growth: A Mother, Her Son, And The Brain Tumor They Survived” (May 2023) by Karen Debonis and you can also check out her blog here.)

A Selby Sweetie Conclusion