11. A book about a person/character with a disability

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

So many of us enjoy reading because it opens our eyes to new perspectives, and this week's prompt is here to do just that. You are looking for a book about a person (nonfiction) or character (fiction) who has a disability.

Mod Note: We understand that the language around disabilities can be personal for those who live with these conditions, so if the terms "differently abled" or "impaired" fit your preferences, please know that we recognize and acknowledge this. The language we are using for this prompt was as voted on by the group at large.

GR Listopias:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

What are you reading for this prompt? Do you have any books to recommend?

[LeahS]

I enjoyed a Tana French mystery/thriller this year, so for this prompt, I am going to try The Wych Elm which has a character who has suffered a brain injury.

I've just finished Where We Belong by Anstey Harris. One of the characters has Downs Syndrome. I enjoyed it. Although it was quite easy to see where the plot was going, the characters and back story were interesting.

[dalex]

Two of my possibilities - Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes (deafness) and The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri (blindness).

Recommendations:
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (character uses a cane)
The Rules of Seeing by Joe Heap (blind character)
The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall (character with autism)

[Hannah]

I'm almost certainly going to read The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. It's about a girl who has a clubfoot, a birth defect that I was also born with. In my case, I was able to get corrective surgery and I no longer consider myself to have a disability, but I occasionally think about the fact that my life could have been very different if I wasn't born in the U.S. at the end of the 20th century to parents who had the means to care for me.

I highly recommend a book I read recently, Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro, which would be perfect for this prompt. The main character has Parkinson's disease and her struggle against it and relationship to it is one of the most significant parts of the story.

[Nadine in NY]

For whatever reason, I am trying to fit as many romance novels as possible into my 2023 Challenge. So for this one, I'm looking at Mary Balogh's series featuring a group of people who are healing from injuries acquired during the war with Napoleon. Only Enchanting is the next one in the series for me. I don't know what the protagonist's disability is. Looks like he's got a stutter and some sort of amnesia.

[NancyJ]

These sound promising:
Waist-High in the World: A Life Among the Nondisabled
Just by Looking at Him- tv writer with cerebral palsy
The Unseen World - on my tbr a long time
The Ghost in My Brain: How a Concussion Stole My Life and How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Helped Me Get it Back
I’m looking for good books about TBIs and other brain injuries.

I recommend:
True Biz - set at a school for the deaf
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging - excellent book for soldiers, family members, and others with PTSD or injuries. Alternative ways to look at life.
Still Alice
Every Note Played
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

Before the Ever After is written from the pov of a child whose football player father has suffered lasting brain injuries.

[NancyJ]

Nadine in NY wrote: "For whatever reason, I am trying to fit as many romance novels as possible into my 2023 Challenge. So for this one, I'm looking at Mary Balogh's series featuring a group of people who..."

Sorrow and Bliss isn’t a romance novel, but there is a lot of depth in the romance and family relationships. It’s not for everyone, but it’s in my top ten this year.

[Nancy]

I've had You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know: A True Story of Family, Face Blindness, and Forgiveness on my physical bookshelf for years, I picked it up used somewhere.

If I don't read that, my other option is The Music of Bees.

I recommend One Two Three for this prompt.

[Kathy]

I'm thinking of reading The King's General by Daphne du Maurier, which I found on one of the lists above. The main character is physically disabled from a riding accident.

A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman sounds good too. A YA book about a dance prodigy in India has an accident which causes her leg below the to be amputated.

Edit: Currently reading House of Glass by Susan Fletcher

I recommend:
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson (chronic invisible illness)
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh (mental illness)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer (blindness)
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham (protagonist born with a club foot)

[Janice]

Hannah wrote: "I'm almost certainly going to read The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. It's about a girl who has a clubfoot, a birth defect that I was also born with. In my cas..."

Those are great books. I might put them on my list if that's ok. :)

[Janice]

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCuller or The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley or Elena Knows by Claudia Pineiro

[Kayleigh]

I'm currently reading Social Queue by Kay Kerr. The MC is a woman on the Autistic Spectrum and so is Kay Kerr herself which I feel really comes through.

As I was reading the book I came across an exchange which reminded me of the discussion around the wording for this prompt, which often left me feeling rather cold.

"No, there's no need for euphemisms. "Disabled" isn't a dirty word,'

I think what would be most helpful is for us all to stop thinking of the word disabled in such a negative way and hopefully this prompt itself will help with that.

[Dana]

So many waiting for me:

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Paper Towns by John Green
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

[Pam]

I’m planning to read the Swedish classic The Dwarf by Pär Lagerkvist. I looked it up and the ADA recognizes dwarfism as a disability. I wasn’t sure.

[NancyJ]

Adding - The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness. Autoimmune

And, I like this title -Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life

[Bea]

I will be considering one of these three:

So Lucky by Nicola Griffith [MS]
Nine Coaches Waiting (paralysis - w/c)
Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him - PTSD

[Sheena]

I plan to dig deeper for other options but so far thinking maybe The Ink Black Heart ; Cormoran Strike, #6?
Strike's leg was amputated after a war injury, and he now uses a prosthetic. It's not a huge part of the plot but is often mentioned as a part of his day to day life in all the books.

[Joy D]

I read:
2 A.M. in Little America by Ken Kalfus - 4* - My Review

The main character suffers from prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces).

[Jill]

What are you reading for this prompt?
I read The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

The main character is an amputee

[Louise]

I went a little creative and chose The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly

[Marie (UK)]

For this prompt I read Rubbernecker

this is such a good book that captures not only, the problems of someone with Asperger's but also the impact on family friends etc.

[LeahS]

As planned, I read The Wych Elm by Tana French, a mystery where the main character is suffering from mental and physical impairments following a brain injury. (Another main character has problems relating to cancer).

It was a very well-plotted book, with lots of twists and turns, and I thought the description of the MC's difficulties was very convincing. Not a book where someone gets hit on the head, and then bounces back.

[Guylian]

I read . Went straight onto my favorites shelf.

[Misty]

I wanted to pick a book where someone had a physical disability, so I am using Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. One of the main characters uses a cane stemming from an accident he had that permanently damaged his leg/knee. Bardugo created his disability because she also walks with a cane sometimes due to a bone disorder that she has.

[Jacqie]

I read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. It lived up to all the hype and I adored it.

[Samantha]

I read True Biz. Overall I found this to be a enjoyable book and it was a very good fit for this prompt. I feel like I learned a lot about the deaf community and ASL.

[Andrea]

I read There There by Tommy Orange. One of the characters has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, or as he calls it, "The Drome."

[GailW]

I read One Hundred Twenty-One Days by Michèle Audin. There were several characters with disabilities - both French mathematicians. One was incarcerated for murdering his sister, aunt, and uncle after suffering injuries during WW1 and the other had to wear a mask over much of his face after being injured in WW1.

[Nike]

I'll read Clear Light of Day: A Novel by Anita Desai, a novel about a person with autism.

[Anne]

I will be reading Frida - A biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera. I can recommend Me before You by Jojo Moyes.

[Joanne]

I read Lock In by John Scalzi about a fictional pandemic which causes a small number of people to be "locked in", meaning their minds are aware but their bodies are completely paralyzed. Society comes up with technologies which allow them to adapt to society. They are able to use a neural network embedded in their brains to control robots which can go out and do whatever their bodies would want to.

[Anastasia]

I would recommend
Starless - one of the characters has a disability
Velocity Weapon - one of the main characters whose POV is followed is disabled.
In both books the disability is not the persons character.

[Melissa]

Hannah wrote: "I'm almost certainly going to read The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. It's about a girl who has a clubfoot, a birth defect that I was also born with. In my cas..."

I loved this book!! (The War that Saved my Life)

[Melissa]

I'm not sure what I'm going to read yet, but I would recommend:

Out of My Mind and Out of My Heart - MC has Cerebral Palsy - she's a great character

and
The Question of David: A Disabled Mother's Journey Through Adoption, Family, and Life
This one really opened my mind and heart.

[Sheila]

I’m pushing the envelope on this one I bought https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... A Man Called Ove and have been looking for a Weekly Read to use it. He discovers that he has a Congenital Heart Defect.

I really wanted to read “End of the Magi” by Patrick W Carr for this link.

[Kristin]

I read this, as it has been on my to-read shelf for a long time.
Sad and controversial. What a weird combination of emotions to feel at the same time. It's a short read, but be warned it has offensive language.

Eventually I'm hoping to extend my library to the point where I can begin recommending books to others. I'm always a bit jealous of all of you who have these long lists of recommendations. I'm hoping one day that can be me, haha! :)

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

I did My Year of Rest and Relaxation

[Wendy]

I just finished The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington, who was also an incredible surrealist artist. I definitely recommend this if you are looking for something obscure and unusual. It features a home for old women in Mexico, a deaf main character who is gifted the titular hearing trumpet, and a mysterious painting of a winking nun. The story starts off grounded enough but soon turns towards the gothic and arcane.

[Aimee]

I'm currently reading the Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom (starts with Dissolution) and all the books work for this prompt as the MC has a curved spine (the books are set in the early modern period so the modern diagnosis isn't given, but I think the descriptions are meant to indicate scoliosis).

[♞ Pat]

I finished

by Lisa Scottoline, which was my best read for March.

It's set in Italy during WW2, so it was an interesting twist on a common topic - everything from this era seems to be Germany or Poland. One of the MC has a reading disability, back before anyone knew there was such a thing. It was a surprisingly good book, although I don't know WHY I was surprised, because I always like Scottoline's work.

[MissLemon]

I have listened to Ten Things I Hate About Me which is written and read by the wonderful Joe Tracini who has BPD ( The 10 things each theme a chapter about a characteristic of BPD and this is used to tell the story of the authors life so far)

I recommend listening to Joe read this - he gives trigger warnings where necessary It isn't an easy read but perhaps this prompt shouldn't be.

(Also on a sometimes lighter note and to give some idea of the 'tone' of the book , look for Joes YouTube Channel where he discusses BPD and depression , but also does wonderful dance tutorials )

[Severina]

Well, I admit I'm taking the easy route for this one. I read The Maze Runner by James Dashner, in which a main character has a limp that hinders his ability to walk/run. Not quite what the prompt intended, I'm sure, but technically it still works!

[[deleted user]]

Snowflakes - the father definitely had some sort of mental illness. 3 stars

[Ana O. ⭐]

The Lightning Thief 3 stars (Dyslexia).

[Sherri]

I read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. 5 stars.

[Denise]

I read When Rabbit Howls, about a woman with dissociative identity disorder (formerly multiple personality disorder)

[Pearl]

I read True Biz 5 stars

[Tracy]

I had True Biz on my list for this prompt, but used it for "NPR Books We Love" so that I could read Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig for this prompt. 5 Stars!

Really good book (an activist memoir in essays?) if you want to get a new perspective on what it's like to get through life in a wheelchair, and how society can make it a lot easier without too much effort. Recommended :)

[Jennifer W]

My initial plan for this prompt was A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II, but the other day I stumbled on an article about Rosemary Kennedy and remembered I have Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter, so that could be an option, too.

I would highly recommend The Running Dream if you like YA.
I read Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law a couple of years ago. It was just OK to me, but definitely a perspective I hadn't encountered before.

[NancyJ]

Tracy wrote: "I had True Biz on my list for this prompt, but used it for "NPR Books We Love" so that I could read Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body..."

That's great to hear. I actually won a copy of Sitting Pretty! The last book I read that was touted as a disability read - wasn't. (The MC's little brother had a serious illness, and it was a very small part of the story.) So I need another one.