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By Melody Gibson
Can a child know they are loved, even if they’ve never heard the words “I love you”? Author Hannah Jessen Conway asked herself that question when she discovered her infant son, Shepherd, was profoundly deaf.
Hannah, who is hearing, was totally new to the world of American Sign Language (ASL), accommodations, and the Deaf community. As she navigated this new terrain with her son, the book Love Sounds Like was born.
Hannah is a first-time children’s book author and lifelong writer who has shared a beautiful story with the world. Love Sounds Like was released on November 8, 2024. We had the pleasure of speaking with Hannah about her story, her writing process, and her encouragement for families of deaf children.
About the Picture Book, Love Sounds Like
We asked Hannah about her writing process for Love Sounds Like. She told us, “I had written the story early on this year…right after I found out Shepherd was deaf, just as a hope and a prayer of what he would know to be true one day—something that I just wanted to share with him personally. I wrote it really quickly, just randomly one evening while I was holding him.”
Shepherd recently received cochlear implants, and the main character in the story (a boy based on Shepherd) also uses implants. As he’s getting ready to take off his “super ears” for the night, the fictional version of Shepherd asks his mother, “What does love sound like?” This story is an answer to that question, with heartwarming examples of other ways we all experience love through our other senses.
Hannah shared the story with a fellow children’s book author (Katie Petruzziello, author of the Mighty Mila series), who encouraged Hannah to pursue publishing. After getting involved in a self-publishing course, Hannah began assembling the team that ultimately brought her book to print.
Through her course’s group of authors, Hannah said, “I was able to find this network of other people who were passionate about inclusive kid lit,” including the book’s illustrator, an editor, and a book formatter (who happened to be Travis D. Peterson, author of Ada and the Helpers).
The illustrations for Love Sounds Like are beautiful watercolors, giving a soft, dreamy feel to this bedtime tale. We asked Hannah if she had any favorite moments from the illustrations: “My favorite spreads I think are the ones where he [illustrator Remesh Ram] did a really good job illustrating different scenes in a seamless way. The book bounces around all these different ways we experience love, right? And he was somehow able to connect the idea of love sounding like a grandpa’s guitar with the crashing waves of the ocean. If you look at that spread, you can see the overlap of the two illustrations. You see the guitar and the music bleeding into the beach scene. It’s absolutely beautiful!”
Hannah also has a background in marketing, which she put to work promoting her book. Many self-published authors balk at the marketing process, but Hannah was well-versed in the strategies of ads and email blasts. The hype isn’t all marketing, though. When she opened her book’s launch team, “within a few days, I had hundreds of signups.” People were excited about this book.
The Impact of Deaf-Inclusive Children’s Books
Hannah told us that she’s heard positive feedback for Love Sounds Like. Kids with cochlear implants can see someone who looks like them, and the story is a realistic and positive display of what children with cochlear implants may experience.
In terms of representing deafness and implants, Hannah said, “I want children to see that their deafness is a part of who they are, but it doesn't necessarily limit or restrict or define who they are. And so in the book, I wanted to show Shepherd interacting with other children.” The children pictured are diverse—some have implants, and some are hearing.
Parents can take heart in this book, too. Hannah said, “I think that a lot of other parents have just felt that sense of encouragement that their children know that they're deeply loved and that there are other ways beyond sound that we can show that to them.”
Hannah told us that she wanted to emphasize the family experience in this book, as well. Love Sounds Like is “a story about hearing loss, but that [isn’t] the main part of the story, if that makes sense…another part that was important to me was to show the whole family. So within it, you'll see grandparents, you see the parents, you see an older brother, you see friends. And I really wanted to promote that…idea of family connection and how the whole family has a role, not just in the child's story, but in their whole family's story as well.”
Words of Wisdom for Hearing Parents of Deaf Children
We asked Hannah if she had any pearls of advice for parents who are just discovering their child is deaf. She said: “The biggest [thing] is that it's going to be okay. Their kid is going to do great, whether they end up getting hearing devices of some sort, whether they learn sign language, or do a combination of both—everything will be fine.
“I would also say that there are a lot of opinions out there and, you know, going on Google can be a little bit risky because everybody has an opinion. But I would say you know your child better than anybody else in the world. And if you advocate for them and for their needs uniquely, then everything will work out.
“So I would say be careful to not compare your journey to other people's journeys, which is true in all parenting.”
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We thank Hannah for writing such a lovely book, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to share her story with you all!
To keep up with Hannah, check out her website here and follow her on Instagram.
Have you read Love Sounds Like yet? Let us know in the comments!
What are some ways you show or feel love beyond words? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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Melody Gibson is a writer and editor based in New York State. She has bachelor’s degrees in both communications and graphic design. Melody became enchanted by picture books when she had her son and started reading to him as a baby. She writes about children’s literature, family relationships, special needs advocacy, child development, and more.
Limitless Potential of ASL: ASL Picture Books Sign Language Blog is a platform that invites you to explore the world of American Sign Language and the Deaf community. The blog offers insights, author interviews, and educational materials for anyone interested in ASL education and Deaf culture. It's a valuable resource, whether you're new to ASL or a seasoned member of the Deaf community. Subscribe today for free to start your ASL journey with us!
Kathleen Marcath, the founder of ASLPictureBooks.com and author of "My Monster Truck Goes Everywhere with Me," is a passionate advocate for bilingual education and ASL literacy, holding a bachelor's degree in Deaf Community Studies. Inspired by the need for inclusive children's books, she created a picture book where characters use sign language on each page, promoting the limitless potential of ASL for d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing and curious children.
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