I'd say I was about 12 or 13 when I read this and the story has stayed with me since then. The smiling face of her sister in the newspaper. Having an older brother she could talk to. Losing her identity in nature and being nameless.

My poor mother had to deal with me experimenting with silence after reading this. I don't know how Hero managed to do it. I can't remember ever doing anything that upset people so much as my two or three forays into selective mutism, and the guilt I felt was immense every time.
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