HeyJaredMother Tongue
Mother Tongue is a Substack written alongside a memoir about returning to my body as its own language, through my relationship with my son, who has Autism, Down syndrome and hearing loss. Stories are posted on Tuesdays, every two weeks.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 6
- Latest publication
- Sep 22, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 7, 2026
Latest issues
Going to Omaha (opens the original)
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Quick note to anyone in the Philadelphia area this Saturday, 9/26 - I’ll be giving the keynote address at "Finding Our Voices: Humanities in Medicine," at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, covering much of the ground I write about here, and I’d love to see you there! I’m also leading an oral history workshop. The day has a stellar lineup, register here! *I’m super stoked to be headed to Omaha this week for the <a href="https://www.commonsensesfestiv
What the Moon Knows (opens the original)
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A quick hello and welcome to those of you who found Mother Tongue through my recent conversation with Claire Zulkey in Evil Witches! I’ve been reading Claire’s excellent, prolific writing for years, and it was so fun to have the space to talk together about the things I’m writing about here: my beautiful, complicated kids, learning through listening, and writing about motherhood and disability. No surprise that Claire asked great questions and was a wonderful listener h
Camp Dreams (opens the original)
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This is just a short one, a note of amazement and thanks. Tomorrow I pick up Jonah from ten days at sleep away camp. This place is special. Friendship is the focus, and disability is joyfully celebrated. It’s a place that seemed to have the right balance of support for Jonah’s needs and classic summer camp fun stuff. We felt hopeful that Jonah could have a good experience here, but as Jed pointed out in the weeks leading up to drop off, as we talked ourselves through cycles of panic, hope is not
Mildly Normal (opens the original)
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Oh no, an opening act.I’m at a theatre in the West Village to see Maria Bamford, my favorite comedian.1 I am an old lady, in habit if not yet in age, and I will only attend shows with assigned seats, preferably ending before 10 pm. I hadn’t banked on an opener, but Maria introduced her as the best, so I figure we’re in good hands.<p class="cta-ca
Pride and Pleasure and More Capacious Norms (opens the original)
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Harriet McBryde Johnson’s memoir, Too Late to Die Young1, begins like this:“I have come to expect it. The glassy smile. The concerned gaze. The double take—sometimes hilarious—when I roll out to meet a client in my waiting room or show up someplace where someone like me is not expected. The discombobulation that comes in my wake.It’s not that I am ugly. It’s more that people don’t know how to look at me. The power wheelchair is enough to inspire gawking, but that’s the le
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