Every family has its own mythology, but in this family none of the myths match up. Both Claudia's parents are deaf but couldn’t be more different; they can’t even agree on how they met, much less who needed saving. She comes of age with her brother in this strange, and increasingly estranged, household split between a small village in southern Italy and New York City. Without even sign language in common—their parents have not bothered to teach them—family communications are chaotic and rife with misinterpretations, by turns hilarious and devastating. An outsider in every way, she longs for a freedom she’s not even sure exists. Only books and punk rock—and a tumultuous relationship—begin to show her the way to create her own mythology, to construct her own version of the story of her life.