Summary

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.

Author Biography

Alice Wong is a disabled activist, media maker, and research consultant based in San Francisco, California. She is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated tocreating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture. Alice is also the host and co-producer of the Disability Visibility podcast and co-partner in a number of collaborations such as #CripTheVote and Access Is Love. From 2013 to 2015, Alice served as a member of the National Council on Disability, an appointment by President Barack Obama. You can followher on Twitter: @SFdirewolf. For more: disabilityvisibilityproject.com.

Introduction by Alice Wong

PART 1: BEING

Unspeakable Conversations
Harriet McBryde Johnson

For Ki’tay D. Davidson, Who Loves Us
Talila A. Lewis

If You Can’t Fast, Give
Maysoon Zayid

There’s a Mathematical Equation That Proves I’m Ugly—Or So I Learned in My Seventh-Grade Art Class
Ariel Henley

The Erasure of Indigenous People in Chronic Illness
Jen Deerinwater

When You Are Waiting to Be Healed
June Eric-Udorie

The Isolation of Being Deaf in Prison
Jeremy Woody, as told to Christie Thompson

Common Cyborg
Jillian Weise

I’m Tired of Chasing a Cure
Liz Moore

PART 2: BECOMING

We Can’t Go Back
Ricardo T. Thornton Sr.

Radical Visibility: A Disabled Queer Clothing Reform Movement Manifesto
Sky Cubacub

Guide Dogs Don’t Lead Blind People. We Wander as One.
Haben Girma

Taking Charge of My Story as a Cancer Patient at the Hospital Where I Work
Diana Cejas

Canfei to Canji: The Freedom of Being Loud
Sandy Ho

Nurturing Black Disabled Joy
Keah Brown

Last but Not Least — Embracing Asexuality
Keshia Scott

Imposter Syndrome and Parenting with a Disability
Jessica Slice

How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage
Elsa Sjunneson

Selma Blair Became a Disabled Icon Overnight. Here’s Why We Need More Stories Like Hers.
Zipporah Arielle

PART 3: DOING

Why My Novel Is Dedicated to My Disabled Friend Maddy
A. H. Reaume

The Antiabortion Bill You Aren’t Hearing About
Rebecca Cokley

So. Not. Broken.
Alice Sheppard

How a Blind Astronomer Found a Way to Hear the Stars
Wanda Díaz-Merced

Incontinence Is a Public Health Issue—And We Need to Talk About It
Mari Ramsawakh

Falling/Burning: Hannah Gadsby, Nanette, and Being a Bipolar Creator
Shoshana Kessock

Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time
Ellen Samuels

Lost Cause
Reyma McCoy McDeid

On NYC’s Paratransit, Fighting for Safety, Respect, and Human Dignity
Britney Wilson

Gaining Power through Communication Access
Lateef McLeod

PART 4: CONNECTING

The Fearless Benjamin Lay: Activist, Abolitionist, Dwarf Person
Eugene Grant

To Survive Climate Catastrophe, Look to Queer and Disabled Folks
Patty Berne, as told to and edited by Vanessa Raditz

Disability Solidarity: Completing the “Vision for Black Lives”
Harriet Tubman Collective

Time’s Up for Me, Too
Karolyn Gehrig

Still Dreaming Wild Disability Justice Dreams at the End of the World
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna- Samarasinha

Love Means Never Having to Say . . . Anything
Jamison Hill

On the Ancestral Plane: Crip Hand- Me Downs and the Legacy of Our Movements
Stacey Milbern

The Beauty of Spaces Created for and by Disabled People
s.e. smith

About the Editor

About the Contributors

Further Reading

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.