The Sound of Her Voice
The Sound of Her Voice: My Blind Parents’ Story is the inspiring chronicle of a remarkable couple, who against all odds, lived full and productive lives.
Mario became the first blind graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School and was later elected Judge of two different county courts in Muncie, Indiana. Jane ran the household and raised four children without outside assistance.
Their story is told by their youngest child, Mary Pieroni Harper, who used extensive archival material, family photographs, documents, and her own memories to preserve a life of courage, love, and resilience.
“A moving and believable family account.”
— Kirkus Reviews
A story of love, independence, blindness, and family legacy.
This memoir honors two people who refused to let blindness define the shape of their lives. Their story is intimate, historical, emotional, and deeply human.
Love
From their early connection at the Indiana School for the Blind, Mario and Jane’s relationship grew into a partnership rooted in trust, humor, and devotion.
Resilience
Their world presented obstacles, but their lives were not defined by limitation. They built a home, pursued meaningful work, and raised a family.
Memory
Mary preserves their story through archival research, family photographs, personal recollections, and the lasting sound of her mother’s voice.
The people behind the pages.
Before Mary wrote their story, Mario and Jane lived it — through childhood, school, courtship, parenthood, public life, private sacrifice, and daily acts of courage.
The book moves beyond inspiration alone. It gives readers a textured family history, showing what blindness meant in the ordinary rhythms of marriage, parenting, work, and home.
Their early lives and education at the Indiana School for the Blind.
Mario’s determination to study, work, practice law, and serve as a judge.
Jane’s strength as a mother, homemaker, partner, and emotional center of the family.
Photographs from a Life Well Lived
A selection of restored family photographs from Mary Harper’s archive, capturing love, growth, marriage, memory, and a legacy that endured.
More than photographs—these are preserved memories.
Each image in Mary Harper’s archive represents a chapter of courage, devotion, and family life. Together, they deepen the emotional world behind The Sound of Her Voice.
A daughter’s tribute to the voices that shaped her life.
The Sound of Her Voice is for readers who love memoir, family history, stories of resilience, and true accounts of people who quietly changed the expectations placed upon them. It is both a deeply personal family story and a tribute to lives lived with courage and purpose.
Order The Sound of Her Voice.
Begin the true story of Mario and Jane — a blind couple whose love, courage, and independence shaped a family legacy.