We’re so pleased to publish an excerpt of Josh Swiller’s just-published debut memoir, The Unheard. Here, SMITH’s memoir editor Rachel Fershleiser, writes in an intro to our excerpt:

Deaf since childhood, Swiller always perceived the world a little bit differently than everyone else. And post-collegiate indecision hits a bit harder when you’re looking for a place beyond deafness. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia, Swiller found a place where, if his deafness wasn’t irrelevant, it was at least not the most unusual thing about him. He worked at a health clinic, facing universal poverty and disease, and later, personally focused violence. In his new memoir he proves it is not just his worldview that is unique, but his literary voice.

Swiller also recently wrote a stirring Lives essay, adapted from his book, in The New York Times, and he’ll be on NPR’s Weekend Edition this Saturday, September 15. To the first-time memoirist, we say: congrats, enjoy your book release party tonight, and here’s to many happy reviews.