On Inheriting Deafness
The first time she met her mother-in-law, my mom committed a faux pas that still makes her cringe. My grandmother, Anna, dropped a piece of Wedgwood—sky-blue stoneware, neoclassical designs—into Mom’s lap as they sat together in what working-class Philadelphians called the “pahlor.” Mom gushed her thanks, only to realize years later that the vase hadn’t …