Task #21: Read a book with a main character or protagonist with a disability (fiction or non)

[Bonnie G.]

Kimberley wrote: "I have a genuine question that is not meant to offend.
Is a ‘hunchback’ considered a disability. I use that term only because that is how the character, Matthew Shardlake in the books by C J Sanso..."

I would say yes,

[Elysia]

Came to ask if The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland would count, and after reading the comments I realized Monstress counted. Woohoo!

[Emerging]

Hi, friends! Question here. Does anybody know if A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline is a fit for this prompt? I'm not sure if Christina Olson's illness is considered a disability. It seems clear that her mobility was impaired. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

[Chloë]

I read Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman for this prompt.

[Tammy]

Emerging wrote: "Hi, friends! Question here. Does anybody know if A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline is a fit for this prompt? I'm not sure if Christina Olson's illness is..."

Yes, it counts! The main character has a physical disability. It may also count as a book in a rural setting, and historical fiction not set during WW II. Here's my review from a few years ago: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Emerging]

Tammy wrote: "Yes, it counts! The main character has a physical disability. It may also count as a book in a rural setting, and historical fiction not set during WW II."

Thanks so much, Tammy! This is a big help.

[Octavia]

Victoria wrote: "For this task, I'm going to be reading Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare. The main male character is blind and it also fits the historical task if you want to double up!"

I picked this up on a whim and read it, not knowing the hero was disabled, so I got lucky twice - I finished a task without realising it, and read a very entertaining historical romance at the same time. And that from someone who's not a big romance reader!

[Deb]

I read Get a Life, Chloe Brown, which was awesome if you like romances. I also liked A Curse So Dark and Lonely.

[James]

The Sound and the Fury has been on my list for a while. I'm reading it for this task. One of the main characters has an unspecified mental disability and at least one other is severely mentally ill.

[Bonnie G.]

James wrote: "The Sound and the Fury has been on my list for a while. I'm reading it for this task. One of the main characters has an unspecified mental disability and at least one other is severely..."

One of my top 10 favorite books ever, what a great and surprising choice for this prompt.

[Cheri]

I'm about to finish up The Bell Jar for this task.

[Megan]

I recently finished The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda and translated by Alison Watts and decided to use it for this prompt.

[Darnell]

I really enjoyed both of Shane Burcaw’s books and Haben Girma’s book!

[Tammy]

I'm currently reading Blood-Drenched Beard by Daniel Galera, a Brazilian author. The main character has a rare neurological disorder that makes him unable to recognize faces, even his own. It's a slow paced book so far (I'm about 1/4 of the way in), but quite enjoyable.

[Emerging]

I recently finished A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline for this task and loved it. Recommended!

[Christopher]

Does anyone know if Turtles All the Way Down by John Green fits in this category? As I understand it, the main character has severe OCD, but in all of my internet research I could not find out whether or not OCD would be considered a disability.

[Karen]

Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte is a new #ownvoices YA novel set in the historical deaf community on Martha's Vineyard. I want to try it.

[Emerging]

Karen wrote: "Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte is a new #ownvoices YA novel set in the historical deaf community on Martha's Vineyard. I want to try it."
That one sounds fascinating!

[Teresa]

Christopher, OCD is a disability. It's a severe mental illness and is usually debilitating if left untreated.

[Denise]

I read Song For A Whale and it was fantastic. This is the story of a deaf girl's connection to a whale whose song cannot be heard by his species and the journey she takes to help him.

The book is written by sign language interpreter Lynne Kelly and her author's notes section is packed full of information that everyone should know. I highly recommend this book.

[Jasmine's]

All the Light We Cannot See

loved it!

[Pankhuri]

Would Awakenings qualify? It is a case study based analysis of encephalitis lethargica .

[ekr]

Hi! I'm joining this thread super late--I don't know how many people are still reading it in July. It didn't seem like a lot of the books mentioned upthread were #ownvoices, so I wanted to make sure to mention some that are. There's so much great writing by disabled folks!

GRAPHIC NOVELS AND COMIC BOOKS
The Oracle Code
A compelling story about Barbara Gordon, newly paralyzed, learning to use a wheelchair, deal with trauma, and trust her own judgment. One of the only realistic stories I've seen about someone adapting to being newly paralyzed.

El Deafo
Funny graphic memoir (could work for double dippers)

YA HISTORICAL NOVELS
The Degenerates
Follows four young women institutionalized at the Massachusetts School for the Feebleminded for different reasons, including but not limited to disability (one has Down syndrome, one has a club foot, one is pregnant and unmarried, and one is a black disabled lesbian; that's fairly true to history, because "feebleminded" was used as a broad catch-all for deviance, esp. among young women)

Show Me a Sign
YA novel about a deaf girl growing up on Martha's Vineyard, which was--this is true--historically a deaf island where nearly everyone could communicate in sign language

SFF
Pretty much anything by Nicola Griffith

Accessing the Future: A Disability-Themed Anthology of Speculative Fiction

ESSAYS & CREATIVE NONFICTION
Disability Visibility : First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century
This is such a good anthology--an instant classic! This collection is a great mix of classic writing by disabled people from the past 20 years combined with the best new writing--it's a wonderfully-curated collection of gorgeous writing and a wide range of voices. Most of the pieces are 4-6pp long, so it's easy to dip in and out of.

The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays
Beautifully-written essays by novelist Esmé Weijun Wang

Waist-High in the World: A Life Among the Nondisabled or anything else by Nancy Mairs
Elegant, funny, and deeply insightful essays navigating her experiences with MS; she and her writing are rightfully beloved

MEMOIR & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
I'm Telling the Truth, but I'm Lying: Essays
Personal essays by Bassey Ikpi, about her experiences with Bipolar II and anxiety.

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
Memoir by a major leader of the disability rights movements, including the famous 1973 Section 504 Sit-In (the longest takeover of a government building in US history; forced US gov't to implement what was basically a precursor to the Americans with Disabilities Act)

Gaby Brimmer: An Autobiography in Three Voices
Co-written by Brimmer, a key figure in Mexico's disability rights movement, together with Elena Pontiatowska and Gaby's mother Florencia

SOCIAL JUSTICE
Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice
"Care Work is a mapping of access as radical love, a celebration of the work that sick and disabled queer/people of colour are doing to find each other and to build power and community, and a toolkit for everyone who wants to build radically resilient, sustainable communities of liberation where no one is left behind." (Arsenal Pulp Press)

Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Cure
Thoughtful, intertwining essays that grapple on the complex relationships that different disabled people have to the idea of "cure"

SHORT STORIES
Call Me Ahab: A Short Story Collection
Stunning short stories that reimagine disabled figures from history, from Vincent Van Gogh to Frida Kahlo to Helen Keller, and rewrite their histories

POETRY
Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back
Diverse range of poetry, essays, and other work examining disabled and D/deaf poetics in the UK

More Than Organs
"A love letter to Brown, Queer, and Trans futures, Kay Ulanday Barrett’s More Than Organs questions "whatever wholeness means” for bodies always in transit, for the safeties and dangers they silo." (Sibling Rivalry Press)

Slingshot
"In these messy, horny, desperate poems spun from dream logic, Cyrée Jarelle Johnson considers the consequences of black sexual and gender deviance, as well as the emotional burden of being forced to the rim of society, then punished for what keeps you alive."



Sorry to drop so many books so late in the game--I love talking about disability lit and have a million more suggestions, so if anyone wants to chat about it more, feel free to respond or message me!

[Yoli]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

[Emerging]

rae wrote: "Hi! I'm joining this thread super late--I don't know how many people are still reading it in July. It didn't seem like a lot of the books mentioned upthread were #ownvoices, so I wanted to make sur..."
Call Me Ahab: A Short Story Collection sounds fascinating!

[Jessica]

Libro.fm has multiple Playlists for fictional stories about disabilities:
Adults https://libro.fm/playlists/disability...
Teens https://libro.fm/playlists/disability...
Kids https://libro.fm/playlists/disability...

[Yonit]

I recommend Nightingale point, by Luan Goldie, a well portrayed main character with a disability.

[Gayaprashad]

i had read the book Forrest Gump by Woodrow Winston for this challenge. Although the main character is not exactly physically disabled , he is a mentally disabled person. The book traces the life of Forrest , a mentally disabled individually who goes through several adventures. Although the movie is a beautiful one , there are still many plots and situations that the movie doesnt do justice so i would suggest that one reads it even if one has seen the movie.

[Payhton]

rae wrote: "Hi! I'm joining this thread super late--I don't know how many people are still reading it in July. It didn't seem like a lot of the books mentioned upthread were #ownvoices, so I wanted to make sur..."

rae wrote: "Hi! I'm joining this thread super late--I don't know how many people are still reading it in July. It didn't seem like a lot of the books mentioned upthread were #ownvoices, so I wanted to make sur..


Hurray for this list!

[Payhton]

My choice for this prompt was: The Last Leaves Falling

It's an #ownvoices book about a teenager diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

[Janice]

I Can Jump Puddles

[Heather]

I'd like opinions: do you think the Percy Jackson books would qualify for this, since both Percy and Annabeth have Dyslexia?

[Heather]

I'd like opinions: do you think the Percy Jackson books would qualify for this, since both Percy and Annabeth have Dyslexia?

[Shelley]

I read The Five: The Lives of Jack the Ripper's Women for a different prompt and it didn't work, so I'm going to shoehorn it in here even though it's not the best fit. Alcoholism is a huge part of most of the victim's lives, particularly Annie Chapman who had a family history and attended rehab. The ADA has certain criteria that have to be met to be considered a disabled alcoholic and she comes close.

It's a pretty devastating read that I highly recommend. The author focuses completely on the five women and how they ended up in the terrible situation they were in at their deaths.

[Alex]

Would Hidden Valley Road count for this? I’m not sure if schizophrenia is considered a disability.

[Bobby]

Alex wrote: "Would Hidden Valley Road count for this? I’m not sure if schizophrenia is considered a disability."

That would definitely count. The Americans with Disabilities Act classifies schizophrenia as a disability, for example, and it is something one can collect Social Security Disability payments for.

[Westiegirl]

I read Song for a Whale it was very creative!

[Heather]

I read The Reason I Jump, which was a bestseller a few years ago. It was written by a 13 year old autistic boy to answer the questions about how he experiences the world. it's really beautifully written, dispels a lot of myths about autistic people, and if you're starting to feel pressed for time, it's quite short

[Liz]

Lauconn wrote: "Must recommend Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. It's a completely delightful middle grade/YA with a protagonist who was born without arms. There's a second book as well..."

I read this book and loved it too!

[Karen]

I am thinking of reading Precious Bane by Mary Webb. I had forgotten that Prue Sarn has a cleft lip/palate and suffers due to this. Setting is rural England during the Napoleonic Wars - so it would work for rural and historical novel tasks, also.

[Virginia]

I read What Would Frida Do? for this. It is about Frida Kahlo who suffered a horrendous accident at age 18 which resulted in ongoing health issues and an eventual amputation.