What is the theme in A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family by Lou Ann Walker?

Walker is very concerned with the stigma attached to deafness, especially in the time she grew up in, the 1950s and 1960s. As many other medical conditions, deafness was poorly understood and ignorance led to bigotry and prejudice. Thus, part of the reason for Walker's book is to debunk the myths of deafness and provide commonsense explanations for the otherwise strange behavior of deaf people.