A groundbreaking collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience: Disability Visibility brings together the voices of activists, authors, lawyers, politicians, artists, and everyday people whose daily lives are, in the words of playwright Neil Marcus, "an art . . . an ingenious way to live." - Edited by MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellow Alice Wong "Shares perspectives that are too often missing from such decision-making about accessibility." --The Washington Post According to the last census, one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some are visible, some are hidden--but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together an urgent, galvanizing collection of personal essays by contemporary disabled writers.There is Harriet McBryde Johnson's "Unspeakable Conversations," which describes her famous debate with Princeton philosopher Peter Singer over her own personhood. There is columnist s. e. smith's celebratory review of a work of theater by disabled performers. There are original pieces by up-and-coming authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma. There are blog posts, manifestos, eulogies, and testimonies to Congress. Taken together, this anthology gives a glimpse of the vast richness and complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own assumptions and understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and past with hope and love.
This was another two-for-one that caught my eye. Though we see disability more these days, I remember growing up and having my surgeries and feeling like I was the only one. Occasionally I met other people who had scoliosis, but it was "never as bad as yours." Which is a great thing to say to a middle schooler who lives in constant pain and can't bend her back...
I have these very few, movie style memories of my non disabled days. Like the flashbacks in movies, where the sun is shining and there's laughter in the air and... I can see myself. It's not a real memory, it's one I created from seeing pictures. I know I loved to climb trees because I still want to, but I haven't been able to in a long time. Eventually even as a teenager, I could only climb the mango trees.
But we don't talk about that stuff in daily life. Other people have traumatic experiences in childhood, or abusive childhoods, and I just have... Pictures. And pain.
This book has many different stories from many different disabled people. All of them are personal experiences and all of them are different. Because every disabled person is different. But you know what's really funny to me? We're ALL asked the same thing. Whether it's a slight disability, an invisible disability that you tell someone about, or you're the "OG" wheelchair user. We all get asked about it. And it's really frustrating.
So, I'd like to ask you: what do YOU think we all get asked?
This book knows.
(Also, 10/10 recommend)
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