November 1, 2021
Deafblind young Arlo Dilly, under the guardianship of a domineering uncle, is resigned to having lost the love of his life, a girl he met at a boarding school for the Deaf whose deeply expressive hands wove wonderful stories. At college, though, he starts wondering if perhaps he was misled by the hearing world about what happened to her. Soon, a ragtag bunch of friends, including his gay interpreter, are off on a mission to discover the truth. Award-winning actor/screenwriter/playwright Fell was twice awarded the Doris Lippman Prize in Creative Writing from the City University of New York for this debut and for a second novel, both in manuscript. He also works as an ASL interpreter for the Deaf.
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February 28, 2022
A man sets out to find the one who got away in Fell’s sweet debut. Arlo Dilly, a 23-year-old deaf and blind Jehovah’s Witness, has been sheltered and isolated under the guardianship of his uncle, Brother Birch, and longtime interpreter, Molly. After he enrolls in a summer writing course, he searches for another interpreter to assist Molly in class. Cyril Brewster takes the gig and alerts Arlo to the extent that Molly had been derelict in her interpreting duties, making decisions on Arlo’s behalf without consulting him. Meanwhile, a school assignment stirs up Arlo’s memories of Shri, the girl he fell in love with at a boarding school for the deaf, and the events that led to his expulsion. Then, a reunion with an old friend reveals that Shri might still be alive, contrary to what Molly and Brother Birch had told Arlo, so he enlists Cyril’s help to find her. But after Brother Birch catches wind of the plan, he fires Cyril and restricts Arlo’s limited independence, prompting Arlo to strike out for New York City alone and leaving Cyril and Molly to team up to find him and then reunite him with Shri. Fell writes with a deep compassion and keen attention to the experiences of living with deafness and blindness. This heartfelt romance is hard to resist.