Book Nerds Across America: alison gervais

Sunday, August 18, 2019

EXCLUSIVE GUEST POST: Alison Gervais, author of The Silence Between Us

Guest post

The Silence Between Us is my very first own voices novel that tells the story of Maya, a Deaf teen, attending her senior year at a hearing high school. One thing that makes this book a little different is its inclusion of American Sign Language, which is a lot different than English.

One of my favorite scenes inThe Silence Between Usto write – while not necessarily an exciting one – was later on in the story when Maya visits her new Ear, Nose & Throat doctor at Children’s Hospital. There are different types of hearing loss and our hearing can sometimes change, so it’s important to check in with an ENT every once in a while (if not regularly, depending on your situation) to make sure everything is looking good. I felt it important to include this scene because the medical aspect can sometimes be overlooked when you think about hearing loss.

This was like a blast to the past for me, not only because I used to be a patient at Children’s Hospital in Denver, but also because from the age of five onward I had frequent visits with my own Ear, Nose & Throat doctor. I never enjoyed having my ears poked and prodded at, or the procedures that came about over the years. Because my own hearing loss increased over time, it was important to have regular visits with my doctor to monitor how things were progressing. All the hearing tests I needed to have as a result got old pretty quick.

There’s been this running joke between my mom and I about the speech perception part of all my hearing tests, when the audiologist would say certain compound words to me while I sat in the soundproof booth – like hotdogor rainbow. Anytime my mom or I hear one of those words, we have to finish off the list with all the other words, like pancake, doghouse, baseball, ice cream. To anyone not in the know, it definitely comes across as pretty weird, but it still gets a good laugh from us. Even if I don’t have very fond memories of my various doctor visits over the years, at least I can smile about this particular one.

I hope readers enjoy the glimpse into this part of Maya’s story and maybe even view hearing loss as a whole a little differently afterward.

About the author

Watty Award winning author Alison Gervais is an undergraduate student at Colorado State University Pueblo, and has been writing for as long as she can remember. In 2011, she began posting her work on Wattpad.com, and has been active on the site for the past five years.

About the book

Moving halfway across the country to Colorado right before senior year isn’t Maya’s idea of a good time. Leaving behind Pratt School for the Deaf where she’s been a student for years only to attend a hearing school is even worse. Maya has dreams of breaking into the medical field and is determined to get the grades and a college degree to match, and she’s never considered being Deaf a disability. But her teachers and classmates at Engelmann High don’t seem to share her optimism.

And then there’s Beau Watson, Engelmann’s student body president and overachiever. Maya suspects Beau’s got a hidden agenda when he starts learning ASL to converse with her, but she also can’t deny it’s nice to sign with someone amongst all the lip reading she has to do with her hearing teachers and classmates. Maya has always been told that Deaf/hearing relationships never work, and yet she can’t help but be drawn to Beau as they spend more and more time together.

But as much Maya and Beau genuinely start to feel for one another, there are unmistakable differences in their worlds. When Maya passes up a chance to receive a cochlear implant, Beau doesn’t understand why Maya wouldn’t want to hear again. Maya is hurt Beau would want her to be anything but who she is—she’s always been proud to be Deaf, something Beau won’t ever be able to understand. Maya has to figure out whether bridging that gap between the Deaf and hearing worlds will be worth it, or if staying true to herself matters more.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Author Interview: Alison Gervais Talks About "In 27 Days"

I was happy to get the opportunity to ask Alison Gervais a few questions about her upcoming book In 27 Days, which will be published by Blink YA Books on July 25, 2017. Without further ado:

How did you come up for the idea of In 27 Days?

I have absolutely NO idea where the idea for IN 27 DAYS came from. I was just sitting on a plane on my way home from a youth conference in Indianapolis, and all of a sudden I asked the person sitting next to me if I could have a pen and a piece of paper because I knew I just had to start writing something. That something turned out to be IN 27 DAYS. When I was writing the story, there were bits and pieces of certain scenes that were rather emotional for me. I’ve struggled with depression for years, and I think it always will be an ongoing battle for me. It was difficult not to feel for these characters as their story unfolded because I’d been in some similar situations before.

Has writing the book changed your perspective on suicide in any way? Did you do any research for it, or what did you learn along the way?

I wouldn’t say that writing the book changed my perspective on suicide because I’ve almost always held the belief that it is not the right answer. Making the decision to end your own life can and will irrevocably change the lives of your loved ones and others around you. Suicide was unfortunately a consistent occurrence in my town. I remember when I first started writing the story, we were sat down in class and told that a twelve-year-old boy at one of our middle schools in town had committed suicide, and it just absolutely broke my heart. Unfortunately that’s something we still see today.

What kind of response did you get from the Wattpad community?

I was very surprised by the success of IN 27 DAYS. Six years ago, when it first debuted on Wattpad, the plot was still a bit out there, and you didn’t see quite as many books than you do now, covering suicide and mental health.

Was writing In 27 Days an emotional experience?

When I was writing the story, there were bits and pieces of certain scenes that were rather emotional for me. I’ve struggled with depression for years, and I think it always will be an ongoing battle for me. It was difficult not to feel for these characters as their story unfolded because I’d been in some similar situations before.

What were you doing 27 days ago? What do you think you'll be doing 27 days from now?

Hmm. 27 days ago I was – and I am still! – working full time as a Deaf Services Specialist, a job that I absolutely love. I was beyond excited to be heading to the Book Expo of America in NYC just a few days later. 27 days from now, we’ll be so close to the release of IN 27 DAYS I don’t know how I’m going to handle it!

What advice would you give to a teen (or anyone) who has a friend whom they think might be suicidal?

I’m in no way a mental health expert, but I think it’s important to inform a trusted adult immediately of what’s going on. Don’t think that you have to solve the problem simply by yourself. It is 100% okay to ask for help. I remember discussing this topic in a psychology class I took at my university, and nine times out of ten, that friend who is feeling suicidal will tell you what’s going on if you just ask.

About the Book

Hadley Jamison receives an unexpected shock when she hears her classmate, Archer Morales, committed suicide. She didn’t know the quiet, reserved guy very well, but Hadley can’t shake the feeling that there was something she could have done to help him. Little does she know, she will actually have the chance. At Archer’s funeral, Hadley is approached by a man named Death who offers her a deal—if she accepts, she will be sent back twenty-seven days in time to prevent Archer from committing suicide.

Twenty-seven days was the length of time it took for Archer to decide to kill himself, and twenty-seven days is all Hadley has to succeed in saving him. Unfortunately, Archer isn’t exactly on the same page. Despite his cold comebacks and aloof exterior, Hadley knows he needs her, and continues to pursue a friendship with him. Archer begins softening up, and Hadley believes that her mission to save him will be a success.

But just when Hadley is beginning to feel confident, a series of dangerous accidents occur. She and Archer are pushed apart, and she must decide whether she is ready to risk everything—including her own life—to keep Archer safe.