"Mainstreamed adults were usually 'alone' in their school and did not have others who shared their stories. Describing educational experiences to family members, colleagues, or spouses either do not occur or perhaps, fall on ears that cannot fathom the experience of education in isolation. Oliva's research succinctly describes mainstream children's isolation from peers, support from their parents impacting education, and their self-awareness of who they are and what they are capable of today because of mainstreamed education."

"Alone in the Mainstream is a fresh, comprehensive book about mainstreamed education. Fresh because Gina Oliva personalizes her own story; and comprehensive because she mixes in the viewpoints of others who themselves were products of mainstreamed education in basic human terms that all of us can understand . . . I highly recommend you read it yourself and see if you can find your own story there."

"The strength of Gina Oliva's Alone in the Mainstream: A Deaf Woman Remembers Public School comes in the many first-person narratives shared by the author and other d/Deaf and hard of hearing individuals throughout. These emotional and conflicting stories of social isolation, the immense desire to belong, and the joy of finding one's 'people, ' linger long after putting down the book and reflect the complexity of the inclusion debate . . . Ultimately, the book makes an important contribution to Deaf culture and Disability Studies and reflects the strengths of qualitative research by raising complex issues with the passionate voice of human experience."

"In addition to describing the formative experiences of her life and her development as a Deaf person, the book engages in debate about the relative meanings of inclusion. As such it is a valuable, if more personal, perspective on this ongoing debate. So often policies and discourses about inclusion focus on the features of 'minority groups' and neglect the fact that inclusion is also a very personal issue . . . It highlights for parents, educators, and Deaf people important personal perspectives and the satisfaction that can be embodied in developing and living a 'Deaf life, ' while being effectively engaged in a largely hearing world."