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A Thousand Voices
A memoir of the remarkable relationship between a young, single woman and the wild, beautiful deaf boy who, for a time, took the place of the son she'd lost, A Thousand Voices is a song of love and grief and a profound meditation on the limits—and the limitlessness—of language. Jeri Parker first met Carlos Louis Salazar in 1964, when she was a high school teacher in Ogden, Utah and he was her friend Marianne Bentley's student at the Utah School for the Deaf. Ten years old but “more otherworldly than childlike,” Carlos wore his beauty like a gift to the world, but occasionally—and regularly when adolescence went through him like a fire—he ripped at it with something like disdain. If Carlos could charm anyone, there was danger in him too. He fathered and had to give up a child when he was still a teenager; he became loud and rude and “unmistakably mean”; he fought, he stole; he got involved with drugs. But when, still in his twenties, his kidneys failed and his life turned into an endless series of operations, he shone as he never had before. Strung with tubes and bed-bound, his struggling body borne down with the shadow of foreign masses, he soared—and carried those who were lucky enough to know him with him.
- GenresFiction
211 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
3 people are currently reading
340 people want to read
About the author
Jeri Parker
4 books49 followersJeri Parker grew up exploring riverbanks and forest paths where she spent summers with her grandparents at a sawmill near Yellowstone National Park. She returned to Idaho’s Centennial Mountains as a young woman and built a cabin of foraged materials. She continues to spend summers there, writing at an old desk with a view toward the Tetons.
She taught high school and university students for many years, but it was when she met Carlos Louis Salazar, a ten-year-old deaf boy, that she began to understand what language is and what the intricate steps of acquiring it involve.
She has won first-place prizes for her writing from the Utah Arts Council and the Henry’s Fork Foundation in Idaho. Other publications include Uneasy Survivors: Five Women Writers and poems and short stories in literary reviews.
Jeri recently discussed her book A Thousand Voices on NPR with RadioWest interviewer Doug Fabrizio. It can be heard on the RadioWest website.
She is an artist as well as writer. Her paintings are in private and public collections in Paris, Athens, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, Sydney, and more than half of the states.
She is presently co-owner of Wildflowers Bed and Breakfast. Her own domain is ruled by a spaniel, two cats, and three golden chickens.
She taught high school and university students for many years, but it was when she met Carlos Louis Salazar, a ten-year-old deaf boy, that she began to understand what language is and what the intricate steps of acquiring it involve.
She has won first-place prizes for her writing from the Utah Arts Council and the Henry’s Fork Foundation in Idaho. Other publications include Uneasy Survivors: Five Women Writers and poems and short stories in literary reviews.
Jeri recently discussed her book A Thousand Voices on NPR with RadioWest interviewer Doug Fabrizio. It can be heard on the RadioWest website.
She is an artist as well as writer. Her paintings are in private and public collections in Paris, Athens, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, Sydney, and more than half of the states.
She is presently co-owner of Wildflowers Bed and Breakfast. Her own domain is ruled by a spaniel, two cats, and three golden chickens.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
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March 14, 2012A Thousand Voices, a Memoir is exactly that—voices from the past, voices in the present, a rich accumulation of the voices of a lifetime. None of these voices could be heard by Carlos. Although he lived in a world of silence, he did learn to talk. When he spoke of his father dying, he said,”My father was gone on the earth.”
The adventures the two of them share are unforgettable. They go to her cabin in the mountains, they sail on the reservoir above Ogden in one of Utah’s most beautiful canyons, they live for a time in Montreal where he learns to ice skate and play hockey. They take a wild trip to Las Vegas that ends on a sad note and from there Carlos will struggle to stay alive.
This wild-hearted young man develops into an amazing individual through the devotion and love of teachers like Jeri and the support of many other people, including his loyal family. His own tenacity and growing wisdom set him apart and lead him to endure with grace what is before him.
A Thousand Voices is compelling. Read it.
The adventures the two of them share are unforgettable. They go to her cabin in the mountains, they sail on the reservoir above Ogden in one of Utah’s most beautiful canyons, they live for a time in Montreal where he learns to ice skate and play hockey. They take a wild trip to Las Vegas that ends on a sad note and from there Carlos will struggle to stay alive.
This wild-hearted young man develops into an amazing individual through the devotion and love of teachers like Jeri and the support of many other people, including his loyal family. His own tenacity and growing wisdom set him apart and lead him to endure with grace what is before him.
A Thousand Voices is compelling. Read it.
January 12, 2012
Oh, how I love Carlos! And how I love this book! I kept putting off reading the last two chapters because I didn't want it to end.
A Thousand Voices is a love story about language. It's never sentimental, but it's so pure, so tender. It's a book that changes people's lives.
A Thousand Voices is a love story about language. It's never sentimental, but it's so pure, so tender. It's a book that changes people's lives.
February 26, 2012
A Thousand Voices made me so sad when I started it because I could see that Carlos, the deaf boy in it, was going to have a tough life. It was really a grieving process for me to watch this guy who was disadvantaged in being deaf and a minority and poor and with a father dead, living in a little house under a viaduct. I’m a counselor so I factored all this in and wondered what his chances were for a good life. But as the book progressed, I watched him learn and grow and form a beautiful friendship with his teacher, who stayed involved with him all his life. Their relationship made me think about the impact people have on each other’s lives, sometimes without realizing it for a long time.
What I really loved in A Thousand Voices was the beautiful use of language, the descriptions of him and the places he is in that take you right there, and the way this boy Carlos and his teacher are both changed. He doesn’t live long but he ends as the master of his life and fate. And his teacher is deepened and in a way fulfilled by the experience of knowing him. He takes the place of the son she’d lost, but he is also as much friend as son.
You won’t forget the love and compassion in these pages. I highly recommend it for someone who wants a story they can’t put down but one that is also contemplative and thoughtful.
What I really loved in A Thousand Voices was the beautiful use of language, the descriptions of him and the places he is in that take you right there, and the way this boy Carlos and his teacher are both changed. He doesn’t live long but he ends as the master of his life and fate. And his teacher is deepened and in a way fulfilled by the experience of knowing him. He takes the place of the son she’d lost, but he is also as much friend as son.
You won’t forget the love and compassion in these pages. I highly recommend it for someone who wants a story they can’t put down but one that is also contemplative and thoughtful.
April 2, 2012
A Thousand Voices gives voice to the inner connection between a deaf boy and his teacher. The relationship between them let me see how powerful it is to hear and be heard, to really take in life being shared.
The bridge of understanding between Jeri and Carlos spans the differences in their ages, their culture, their economic and social hierarchy, their gender, their education. Yet the complexities of the relationship are not glossed over. It was as complicated for her to listen as it was for him, for her to be secure as for him to be needy, for her to be a young woman as for him to be a young boy, for her to be Anglo-American as for him to be Spanish-American. The complexities went both ways and are seen honestly as well as gently.
For all their differences, I felt very little separation, much friendship. The deaf are usually considered challenged, but what happens in A Thousand Voices is that the sensitivity in Carlos is so profound it resonates with those who can respond at his depth. Jeri guides us into a deep awareness.
The spirituality in these pages is the thing that will stay with me. It made me aware of the voices guiding my own life, and it made me aware that those voices are frequently not just heard through the ears.
Read this book. You may find you too are immersed in a thousand.
The bridge of understanding between Jeri and Carlos spans the differences in their ages, their culture, their economic and social hierarchy, their gender, their education. Yet the complexities of the relationship are not glossed over. It was as complicated for her to listen as it was for him, for her to be secure as for him to be needy, for her to be a young woman as for him to be a young boy, for her to be Anglo-American as for him to be Spanish-American. The complexities went both ways and are seen honestly as well as gently.
For all their differences, I felt very little separation, much friendship. The deaf are usually considered challenged, but what happens in A Thousand Voices is that the sensitivity in Carlos is so profound it resonates with those who can respond at his depth. Jeri guides us into a deep awareness.
The spirituality in these pages is the thing that will stay with me. It made me aware of the voices guiding my own life, and it made me aware that those voices are frequently not just heard through the ears.
Read this book. You may find you too are immersed in a thousand.
March 18, 2012
“Wow! Very Pow!” Parker’s distinctive voice cascades over and through the reader as the story of Carlos masterfully unfolds. Poverty ridden, deaf and Hispanic in a time and place where none of these factors were understood, Parker crashes into his world with her passion for teaching and language only to find herself drawn in by his wild abandon. Carlos creates a language unto himself and student becomes teacher as these two characters begin a life-long journey of friendship, love and gleaning. A Thousand Voices defies boundaries, encouraging readers to shed presumptions as they explore, and perhaps redefine, love and what language is really all about. Take my word for it and order more than one, as you’ll find your copy disappearing amongst friends and loved ones who will not want to part with it any more than you will!
July 23, 2015
Accompany reading this with Train Go Sorry. Both terrific books. Some beautiful poetry in this one. For me, as an singer and songwriter, it was fascinating to read about - and imagine - a deaf person learning speech, the cadence that would result from only having movement to work with, the way the brain assimilates speech rather than sound, and learns to use it. The use of verbs, and nouns, and their order, differ from language to language, and certainly differ in "deaf-speak". This is a great companion to "Train Go Sorry" and I thought some of the author's observations and language were so beautiful that not only Carlos, but the forested woods, came to life for me. I wish there'd been a little more delving into the "How do we learn to speak?" and "Where does language come from?" questions she raises, without getting into technical jargon, but on the whole the book is wonderful.
September 18, 2020
Really enjoyed this book. Think it would be good for book club.
September 24, 2012
A Thousand Voices: a memoir stays in the forefront of my mind because of its honesty. There is a raw and real quality to it along with the honesty... and maybe it is the combination of these ingredients that makes you examine your own life as you read. The integrity in the book does take you to a place of honesty within yourself. If you're trying to work something out in your head and you're reading A Thousand Voices, you can't hide from bringing the same honesty to your own life.
The little deaf boy in the story also made me aware of minorities and the disadvantaged and the struggles they have that I hadn't thought about. It made me want to get outside my own world and reach out to these groups.
Dr. Parker has written a sensitive and reflective story about Carlos and his amazing and selfless teacher (who is Dr. Jeri Parker)who becomes his friend and stands beside him in his difficulties throughout his life. Have you ever thought about what it would feel like as a little child ( and even as an adult) going to sleep in the dark and never being able to hear... anything? As you read it, you want to do more with yourself because of what she did. The story will make a change in you, and it's nice as you read it because you don't ever think that's what she set out to do.
The little deaf boy in the story also made me aware of minorities and the disadvantaged and the struggles they have that I hadn't thought about. It made me want to get outside my own world and reach out to these groups.
Dr. Parker has written a sensitive and reflective story about Carlos and his amazing and selfless teacher (who is Dr. Jeri Parker)who becomes his friend and stands beside him in his difficulties throughout his life. Have you ever thought about what it would feel like as a little child ( and even as an adult) going to sleep in the dark and never being able to hear... anything? As you read it, you want to do more with yourself because of what she did. The story will make a change in you, and it's nice as you read it because you don't ever think that's what she set out to do.
July 3, 2013
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
The first 20-40 pages had me thinking I didn't think I was going to like this book. It wasn't really grabbing my attention. But I continued on & I'm so glad I did. This is such a heart warming story of love & compassion. The relationship between Jeri & Carlos is riveting. Their love for each other so evident, so concrete, so forever. I think they both held on to each other with everything they had within themselves. They WERE the one, true, sure thing in each others lives. Kudos to Jeri, the author, for the motherly love & nurturing she provided to this brilliant young boy who she watched become a man.
I would definitely recommend this book.
The first 20-40 pages had me thinking I didn't think I was going to like this book. It wasn't really grabbing my attention. But I continued on & I'm so glad I did. This is such a heart warming story of love & compassion. The relationship between Jeri & Carlos is riveting. Their love for each other so evident, so concrete, so forever. I think they both held on to each other with everything they had within themselves. They WERE the one, true, sure thing in each others lives. Kudos to Jeri, the author, for the motherly love & nurturing she provided to this brilliant young boy who she watched become a man.
I would definitely recommend this book.
July 23, 2012
Every once in a while you come across a book that stops you in your tracks and you can't put it down because to do so, would shatter something beautiful. When you do put it down, it is quietly and carefully so that you can contemplate what you've just read and try to absorb wrapping yourself in it's blanket of words and depth. It causes you to look at the world differently, with more clarity, and leaves you all the richer for the experience.
This is one of those books.............
This is one of those books.............
August 15, 2013
This is a delicate, tender story to be savored slowly if possible, although the desire to know the outcome made that almost impossible. I settled for re-reading it again to experience its poignant, muti-layered tale of a passionate, motherless teacher and the beautiful, melancholy boy that changes her life (and his) forever. Exquisite and insightful, I am better for having read it!
April 20, 2012
What a sweet, heart warming story of love and understanding! The Author makes you wants to reach in and hug this boy as he struggles through the hardships life can hand out! Wonderfully descriptive! I was captivated and had to hide from the kids to finish the book. SIMPLY DIVINE:)
November 16, 2012
Beautifully written and as moving as Anne Sullivan's and Helen Keller's story (though a bit more tragic). Thankfully, Jeri and Carlos had each other, and we are fortunate to be a part of it as she preserves their memory in "A Thousand Voices".
October 15, 2012
Although I have just started reading, I have to say it's been great! And now that I've finished the book, I enjoyed understanding the "gap" between the hearing and non-hearing world. Language... heard or seen... I believe we see better when we look.
June 16, 2013
This was a Goodreads Giveaway. I absolutely adored this book. Jeri Parker creates such a beautiful picture of Carlos, with whom I instantly fell in love. I very rarely come across a book that touches my heart in the way A Thousand Voices did. I would recommend this book to absolutely everybody.
August 28, 2013
For me, the language of this book was like music. It is written in such a way that I found myself reading and re-reading sentences to capture the meaning between the notes. Parker writes a symphony for those who hear with their hearts.
June 27, 2013
I was looking forward to reading this book, but contrary to the message that I received the book, it has not arrived. I do hope you can rectify this matter and I will be happy to write a review of this book.
I finally received my book and put everything down to begin reading. It grabbed my attention immediately. Although I had an engagement this evening I was only able to read the first three chapters, but in those three chapters I became drawn into this story. I look forward to picking it up again and learning more about this intriguing title, "A Thousand Words".
As I continued to read the story I found it difficult to follow. The author has an interesting story to tell, but looses the reader often as she goes back and forth from the present to the future. Reading paragraphs once, twice, and sometimes even three times made it frustrating to follow the story line and to finally complete the book.
I finally received my book and put everything down to begin reading. It grabbed my attention immediately. Although I had an engagement this evening I was only able to read the first three chapters, but in those three chapters I became drawn into this story. I look forward to picking it up again and learning more about this intriguing title, "A Thousand Words".
As I continued to read the story I found it difficult to follow. The author has an interesting story to tell, but looses the reader often as she goes back and forth from the present to the future. Reading paragraphs once, twice, and sometimes even three times made it frustrating to follow the story line and to finally complete the book.
April 9, 2012
Parker's memoir is a celebration of life and language. Real, raw, tender, triumphant. A story to savor.
She is in awe of the little deaf boy's creative capacity for language, but I came away impressed that only one similarly gifted could recognize his gift and share his story so vividly. Rarely do we see such insight into this most complex of human behaviors--and see it captured so concisely.
Above all, we come to know a boy and others in his life who remind us just how rich life can be, even against all odds!
She is in awe of the little deaf boy's creative capacity for language, but I came away impressed that only one similarly gifted could recognize his gift and share his story so vividly. Rarely do we see such insight into this most complex of human behaviors--and see it captured so concisely.
Above all, we come to know a boy and others in his life who remind us just how rich life can be, even against all odds!
February 7, 2015
a much as I wanted to like this book I can't. Yes it is a memoir but it didn't need to be so confusing. Instead of all the description of nature I would have liked a bit more chronology so I could figure out just exactly what was going on. Jeri's relationship with Carlos as presented is strange-- (I see know what school districts don't allow teachers that kind of contact!!) Then she just leaves him to return as he is dying? Eulogies are positive (for the most part) but if your praise of the dead goes 200 pages, maybe there should be more of a "life history" as well.
January 25, 2013
This is a memoir about a teacher (Jeri) and her student/surrogate son (Carlos) and his journey as a deaf child to gain language. Jeri's portrayal of Carlos is beautifully conveyed and we can hear his voice and see through to his spirit as she tells their story. It was a little flat and would drag at times, but a sweet story. Jeri's deep love Carlos, and his for her, is evident.
June 15, 2014
It will take time for me to sort out exactly why this book struck me so hard. Jeri Parker's portrait of Carlos is remarkable, for sure. And her recollections of the woven qualities of love are complex and poetic. But there's something fresh about A THOUSAND VOICES that's harder for me to define, something un-calculated and deeply honest that has been impossible (in a good way) to shake.
December 3, 2015
I bought this book from the discount shelf at the King's English bookstore in Salt Lake City this summer. I love the idea of language in the book. But more than that, I love the story of the boy and the teacher; two friends from vastly different backgrounds who taught each other so much. I think the purity of the story is in the compassion and the strength of the human spirit.
December 6, 2012
A very different book - interesting relationship between a language teacher and a deaf child who become best friends with fun experiences as well as difficult ones.
June 28, 2013
You'll never see language the same way again. The POV on this book was refreshing and mind blowing. Great book thanks goodreads giveaway!
July 22, 2013
I'm usually not a fan of memoirs, but this was quite interesting.
October 8, 2012
Sad story but heartwarming.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews