Abigail Heringer Discusses New Book Detailing Her Journey As The First Deaf Bachelor Contestant

Thousands of people watched Abigail Heringer step out of her comfort zone to be on The Bachelor, becoming the first deaf contestant in the show's history.

She joined LeAnne Taylor on News On 6 at 9 to talk about her experience and her new book.

LeAnne: What was that experience like, being on that show?

Abigail: It was such a whirlwind. It was just something I never expected to do. I found myself on the TV show, and I couldn't be more grateful for where I am now because of it.

LeAnne: I wanted to read this little snippet because I thought it was very interesting. You reached out to your mom. You're like, "Hey, I think I'm going to do this." And you called her to get her impression. It says: “This was it. The moment when she would shut the idea down and tell me how difficult it was going to be to talk about my disability on national television. Was I really ready to be that vulnerable?” And she was encouraging you.

Abigail: She was very encouraging. That was something that really surprised me. We were a very low-key family. We were never in the spotlight. So, I thought she would shut it down, saying no, but I think she just saw the possibility of what my story could resonate with, you know, certain people out there. So, she was very encouraging.

LeAnne: The book will be coming out next week. It chronicles your journey, not only on that show, which is of national prominence, but all the back story about you, growing up deaf, getting a cochlear implant, and having an older sister who had that implant. Telling that story in this book, how challenging was that?

Abigail: It was very emotional writing it. Both my sister and I were born with profound hearing loss, and we had a cochlear implant when we were two years old. It was something when we were navigating that there just wasn't a lot of representation around it. Growing up, feeling very lost with my identity as a disabled woman, and so compiling all those stories, my stories, my mom's stories, into this book, we're just hoping that our message and our story can resonate and provide comfort to other families out there.

LeAnne: Your sister, Rachel, is important to you. Now you're engaged to Noah. Noah is from Tulsa, and so you guys are living here right now.

Abigail: Yeah, we've been here for a whole year now, and I mean, we're absolutely loving it. He has so many friends here, his family's here, and we have just found a good community here, and we love it here.

LeAnne: How do you hope this book will help people?

Abigail: I'm just hoping this book can help people in my shoes feel less alone. Parents who are navigating a disability for the first time and even just to other people how they can be an ally for the deaf community as well and of just sharing a different perspective, if you will. So, that's kind of the goal of "The Deaf Girl".

LeAnne: I really enjoyed the book. I think it was raw at times, especially when you were referring to things that were going on in your life when maybe people thought you were being aloof or standoffish, and it was simply because you couldn't hear.

Abigail: Yeah, 100% I think just navigating that, while feeling like I'm the only one going through it, it just was a very isolating experience. So, I hope sharing, you know, all these things happen to me. They're very normal when you have a hearing loss. I just hope I can provide comfort to other people that are going through that as well.

You can meet Abigail at an upcoming book signing at the Gathering Place at Williams Lodge. It's happening Sunday, Sept. 8 at 2 p.m. You can buy the book there and have her autograph it.

For more information or to purchase the book online, visit the Magic City Books website.