© 2009
By Marlee Matlin with Betsy Sharkey
Reviewed by Ann Stalnaker
Marlee Matlin became known to all of us as the deaf pupil turned custodian in the movie "Children of a Lesser God", a role for which she became the youngest woman ever to win a Best Actress Academy Award Oscar.
In "I’ll Scream Later", she takes readers on the frank and touching journey of her life, from the loss of her hearing at the age of 18 months to the highs and lows of Hollywood, her battles with drug addiction, and the unexpected challenges of being thrust into the spotlight as an emissary for the Deaf community. She speaks candidly for the first time about the troubles of her youth (sexual molestation by a babysitter and male high school teacher), the passionate and violent two year relationship with Oscar winner William Hurt that dovetailed into a stint at the Betty Ford Center, and her subsequent romances with Rob Lowe, Richard Dean Anderson and David E. Kelly.
She attended mainstream schools in various parts of Morton Grove, Illinois, depending on which schools had deaf education programs.
One turning point of Marlee’s life is the play "The Wizard of Oz" in which she had her first acting role, playing Dorothy. When she was 7 years old, she started going to the Center on Deafness and the Arts after school and during the weekends. She first met Henry Winkler and his wife, Stacy, during this time. She found in acting, with the encouragement of Winkler, a discipline, a drive, and a talent for understanding the human condition that belied her age and her inability to hear.
Marlee has been nominated for an Emmy award several times for her memorable roles in "Picket Fences, Seinfeld", "The West Wing" and The "L Word."
She has danced a show-stopping cha-cha-cha on "Dancing with the Stars".
I found "I’ll Scream Later" a powerful and enduring story told with honesty and humor of her life. It held my interest from front to back, so much so that I read it twice, and gave me a clearer understanding about why she switched from signing ASL to signed English and many other things hearing- loss related. She is now a board trustee at Gallaudet University and continues to advocate for captioning for all of us.