The 29-year-old singer is sharing her inspirational story in her new audiobook.
Mandy Harvey stole our hearts when she hit the America's Got Talent stage, earning Simon Cowell’s “golden buzzer” with an original song and even landing a coveted spot as a semi-finalist on the show.
In the wake of her musical journey this season, Harvey is now sharing her inspirational story as a deaf singer in her new audiobook, Sensing the Rhythm: Finding My Voice in a World Without Sound.
“How did I keep from losing my mind?” the 29-year-old artist says, reflecting on the early stages of her hearing loss as a college music major. “My hearing started slowly and irrevocably slipping away.”
“I decided to write this book, not just to answer these questions, but because the twisting, rocky, uphill road I’ve been on the last 10 years has given me some life-changing insights, some lessons that I feel are worth sharing,” she adds.
After losing her hearing to a connective tissue disorder, Harvey had to re-learn how to sing and soon learned to sense the vibrations of the music through her bare feet on a stage floor while watching for visual cues from her live accompaniment.
“The result is that even minus my hearing, I’m a more complete person than I’ve ever been,” she says.
Hear the full excerpt below:
And while the songstress is truly gifted, delivering pitch perfect performances -- recording her audiobook was no easy feat.
MORE: 'AGT Finale': Deaf Singer Mandy Harvey Talks 'Fighting Back Tears' After Emotional Performance
“I think it's an odd thing,” she says. “Most people don't realize how much work it is to actually record your voice when you can’t hear it coming out of your own mouth. I have to think of every single consonant that comes out.”
“I hope that when you are done listening to this book, that you leave with a sense of hope,” she adds. “Every single person is going to face challenges, every single person struggles and everybody needs a helping hand from time to time. We are all struggling together, and in the same turn, we are all celebrating life together.”