Prior to 2007 no books had been written on the culture and history of Deaf people in South Africa. This groundbreaking book within the Hidden Histories Series came about with the help of a group of courageous Deaf people who entrusted their stories to author Ruth Morgan and her team. It provides a direct window into the experiences, perceptions and world view of the Deaf narrators. ""We never had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Deaf people. There is nothing for the Deaf community. Deaf people were affected but they were not given an opportunity."" - Gavin Johnson. As part of an oral history project, Deaf Me Normal builds a bridge between the Deaf and the hearing worlds, so that hearing people can access the hidden lives of Deaf South Africans. The social discrimination against Deaf people during apartheid resulted in their extreme marginalisation and the silencing of their experiences. Deaf people in South Africa, together with Deaf communities worldwide, have a culture with a long and rich oral folk tradition based on the use of SASL. As in other cultures with an oral tradition, the language is used in face-to-face interactions and does not have a written form.

This remarkable life story offers young and old, white and black South Africans, an insight into life as it was in the country at the time when Ramaphakela Hans Hlalethwa grew up. We are given a picture of family life and values, with vivid descriptions of both comical situations and tragic events. We follow Hans in his hard slog to succeed in his chosen profession, education. It is vital for those who did not experience apartheid and what this did to the people of South Africa themselves, to be able to follow Hans' experiences: white prejudice, police action, arrests and detentions, sabotage and meetings, the so-called 'political funerals' of the 80's and much more. Those citizens who now, post 1994, can live free lives and who do not know what a passbook is, will find this book an eye-opener. Throughout his life, Hlalethwa's religious belief shines brightly, culminating in his ordination as a Deacon in the Catholic Church. His parish church in Soshanguve became almost as famous as Regina Mundi in Soweto as a centre for activism and opposition to the hated apartheid system, where he also was a fieldworker for the Justice and Peace Commission of the Pretoria Archdiocese.