Make Mine Manhattan

About the Book

From childhood, Richard William Cooke dreamed of New York City. Despite unbelievable odds, a series of timely and wildly implausible events eventually propelled him from Oregon to Manhattan and an exciting, successful, forty-year business career.

This is the story of how that young dream came true. It is also the story of growing up as the son of deaf parents and how their special needs forced both him and his sister to take on the role of parent at an early age.

It is also the story of how one man survived behind the shadows of a dark secret that tore at him daily and ultimately created a crisis that sadly affected his marriage and family. With boldness, kindness and humor, the author deftly provides a poignant glimpse into two little-known worlds-the world of the deaf and the world of those who feel they must live one life in order to protect the other, secret one. The story will give hope to others who are, today, living with the same secret, and how through love, understanding, compassion-and the passing of time-even the deepest hurts can heal.

About the Author

Richard William Cooke was born in Portland, Oregon, to parents who were deaf. After working in banking and serving as a minister to the deaf in Portland, he moved to Chicago and then New York City where he worked in public relations and marketing communications while teaching evening courses in American Sign Language and serving as a Certified Interpreter for the Deaf. In addition to a radio and TV broadcasting career on Cape Cod, where he also lived for a number of years, he created The Commonwealth Group, Inc., a Hyannis, Massachusetts, advertising and public relations agency. He retired in 1997 as president of Cooke/Co, his own Manhattan public relations and marketing communications firm, and now lives in Deerfield Beach, Florida.