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Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century

Alice Wong (Editor),

Harriet McBryde Johnson (Contributor)

Start date: September 5, 2021

Finish date: September 29, 2021

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century by Alice Wong (Editor), Harriet…more
[close] Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century by Alice Wong (Editor), Harriet McBryde Johnson (Contributor), Talila A. Lewis (Contributor)

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Shelves: nonfiction, lgbtqia, biography

"I believe I am living in a time where disabled people are more visible than ever before. And yet while representation is exciting and important, it is not enough. I want and expect more. We all should expect more. We all deserve more.”

This rich, vunerable and diverse essay-collection brings together the stories and voices of various disabled American people. The collection's main point is to show (able-bodied) readers what it's like to continuously deal with physical, legal, racial or ment "I believe I am living in a time where disabled people are more visible than ever before. And yet while representation is exciting and important, it is not enough. I want and expect more. We all should expect more. We all deserve more.”

This rich, vunerable and diverse essay-collection brings together the stories and voices of various disabled American people. The collection's main point is to show (able-bodied) readers what it's like to continuously deal with physical, legal, racial or mental problems in a world that wants you to be inspirational. To be grateful for the minimum amount of care that you're given.

The authors' experiences offer many infuriating examples, among the lines off: "We welcome you to give a speech, but our facility has no ramps and an elevator on the other side of the building. We diagnose you with bipolar disorder, but give no explanation about the illness or coping skills. We understand you are a deaf man in prison, but we don't offer any ASL interpreters."

But while many of these stories lay bare the injustices and social problems that are out there, writers also tell us about the (online) community they've found, the friendships, the romance blossoming between non-abled or abled partners.
As Ricardo T. Thornton Sr. writes: "the only thing that's special about me is that people believed in me and in my potential to learn in spite of my disability, and they took the time to help me learn."

A a Dutch reader, not every problem regarding American (mental) health-care was recognizable, but it did make me more aware of our (lack of) laws and rules regarding disabilities. For example, it took until the Covid pandemic to have a sign language interpreter present during the cabinet press conferences.

Like any social group, disabled people are not a monolith and this important essay-collection is a wonderful example of that. Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century made me think, made my furious, made me laugh, and aware of the world around me, and that is always a good thing. ...more

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