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24 ratings | 7 reviews | avg rating:4.71

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Rachel Zemach

Goodreads Author

Website

https://www.rachelzemach.com

Genre

Memoir, Nonfiction, Contemporary

Member Since

February 2019

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Rachel became Deaf at age ten, in an accident. As a teenager, she was thrilled to discover the charged, idiosyncratic Deaf world and the lavishly expressive and comprehensive, 3-D language of American Sign Language.

Later, while raising two children and running a mosaic tile business, she got a Deaf education teaching credential, and began teaching a Deaf class in a public school "mainstream program" near her home. It turned out to be an exhilarating, but shocking career.

After ten years of teaching there, and three teaching in a world-famous all-Deaf school, she decided to write a memoir of this experience, in order to educate others, improve the lot of Deaf children and try to start a national dialogue about mainstream Deaf education.

In The ...more

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Rachel Zemach’s books

Average rating: 4.76 · 158 ratings · 47 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Butterfly Cage 4.79 avg rating — 149 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I'll Tell You Later: Deaf Survivors of Dinner Table Syndrome by Raymond Luczak (Goodreads Author), Kris Ringman, Michael Davidson 4.33 avg rating — 9 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Rachel Zemach's Blog

Suicidal Pigs, Butterflies and Leafs the Size of Children: welcome to rural Hawaii

I started writing my memoir about Deaf education, The Butterfly Cage, about seven years ago. Now, my book is out of its cage and its spreading its wings and fluttering into the hearts of strangers. It's been an exciting, hard, daunting, fun and ultimately beautiful adventure, and one I strong encourage now to anyone who has a flicker of a book sitting inside them, recurring in their psyche and hea Read more of this blog post »

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Published on March 08, 2024 16:59

Rachel is Currently Reading

Rachel Zemach rated a book it was amazing

Spare

by Prince Harry

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Rachel Zemach said: " I loved this. Love taking a dive into memoir since I recently finished my own, and loved getting to know more about the royal family since I used to live near the Queens House in Greenwich, London.

Felt I got to know Harry, was quite surprised by how ...more "

Sep 07, 2024 06:38PM · see review

Rachel Zemach is currently reading

The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness

by Paula Poundstone

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Feb 18, 2019 06:23PM

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Rachel’s Recent Updates

Rachel Zemach wants to read All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Memoir	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 21, 2025 07:49AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rachel Zemach wants to read Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Memoir	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 21, 2025 07:49AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rachel Zemach is now following TheDeafBookClub's reviews
Nov 29, 2024 09:04AM · like
Rachel Zemach liked Megz's review of The Butterfly Cage: "I’m not sure why or how, but this seems to be the year where I am reading and consuming a lot of media by Deaf creators - and I am here for it! The Butterfly Cage is a memoir by a Deaf educator, featuring her experiences teaching first at a public sc" Read more of this review »
Sep 24, 2024 02:33PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Butterfly Cage by Rachel Zemach. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Butterfly Cage by Rachel Zemach <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rachel Zemach rated a book it was amazing The Liars' Club by Mary Karr	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
OK, Mary Karr is absolutely incredible. I've read all her books, devoured them slowly and savored each page while writing my own memoir. Was absolutely educated by her across the board; how to be funny how to be honest, how to tell truth, how to exam ...more
Sep 07, 2024 06:44PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Liars' Club by Mary Karr. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Liars' Club by Mary Karr <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rachel Zemach rated a book it was amazing The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Read this a while back, so don't remember details, but remember hugely enjoying it and finding it funny, clear-thinking, and terrific. ...more
Sep 07, 2024 06:43PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rachel Zemach rated a book it was amazing A Very Private School: A Memoir by Charles Spencer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this a lot!! Extremely well written with a few breath taking lines and many shocking revelations. I too attended boarding school in Britain at the age of 11/12, the SAME year as this!!!!! Thankfully my experience was different but wow, super ...more
Sep 07, 2024 06:39PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Very Private School by Charles Spencer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Very Private School by Charles Spencer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rachel Zemach rated a book it was amazing Spare by Prince Harry	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I loved this. Love taking a dive into memoir since I recently finished my own, and loved getting to know more about the royal family since I used to live near the Queens House in Greenwich, London. Felt I got to know Harry, was quite surprised by how ...more
Sep 07, 2024 06:38PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Spare by Prince Harry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Spare by Prince Harry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rachel Zemach rated a book it was amazing Spare by Prince Harry	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I loved this. Love taking a dive into memoir since I recently finished my own, and loved getting to know more about the royal family since I used to live near the Queens House in Greenwich, London. Felt I got to know Harry, was quite surprised by how ...more
Sep 07, 2024 06:36PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Spare by Prince Harry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Spare by Prince Harry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rachel Zemach rated a book it was amazing Nutshell by Ian McEwan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Finished this a month or so ago, enjoyed it a lot, even though it's not my "type." Found myself loving the craziness of the plot (a baby listening to a murder being planned by his mother and boyfriend) and curious to see what would happen. Also loved ...more
Sep 07, 2024 06:33PM · like · see review