If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't) by Betty White

Betty White's enjoyable autobiography If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't) is a collection of snippets about her life, career, friends, and family. When I first read this book in May, I shared a quote from it on my Hearing Sparks blog that I wanted to reproduce here.

Okay, so you get your glasses and everyone is extremely supportive. "Oh, those are very pretty." "Those glasses look great on you!" Et cetera, et cetera.

Somehow it's a different story when your hearing starts to go. People can even seem a little annoyed when you say "What?" too many times. They'll repeat themselves, but frequently without making it one jot clearer or louder. You find you need to see faces. If someone turns away while still talking, you realize how much lip-reading you'd been doing without realizing it.

I can remember accusing my dad of selective hearing - hearing only what he wanted to hear. Shame on me. That was before I learned how isolated one can feel when she misses a key remark and loses track of the conversation but is loath to admit it.

My father never enjoyed parties and avoided them whenever possible. He always said he couldn't hear anybody in a crowd. I always thought it was because he just didn't like parties. But now I understand. Cocktail-party small talk may not be much worth hearing, but it's tough when you can't hear it at all.

Sorry, Daddy, for this late apology - now I understand.