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Disability visibility : first-person stories from the twenty-first century
2020
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"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." 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"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

This collection of essays from contemporary disabled writers celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act focuses on issues such as disabled performers in the theater and the everyday lives of the community. Original. - (Baker & Taylor)

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. - (Random House, Inc.)

Table of Contents

Introduction xv
Alice Wong
PART 1 BEING
Unspeakable Conversations
3(25)
Harriet McBryde Johnson
For Ki'tay D. Davidson, Who Loves Us
28(8)
Talila A. Lewis
If You Can't Fast, Give
36(3)
Maysoon Zayid
There's a Mathematical Equation That Proves I'm Ugly--Or So I Learned in My Seventh-Grade Art Class
39(8)
Ariel Henley
The Erasure of Indigenous People in Chronic Illness
47(6)
Jen Deerinwater
When You Are Waiting to Be Healed
53(6)
June Eric-Udorie
The Isolation of Being Deaf in Prison
59(4)
Jeremy Woody
Christie Thompson
Common Cyborg
63(12)
Jillian Weise
I'm Tired of Chasing a Cure
75(10)
Liz Moore
PART 2 BECOMING
We Can't Go Back
85(5)
Ricardo T. Thornton Sr
Radical Visibility: A Disabled Queer Clothing Reform Movement Manifesto
90(11)
Sky Cubacub
Guide Dogs Don't Lead Blind People. We Wander as One
101(3)
Haben Girma
Taking Charge of My Story as a Cancer Patient at the Hospital Where I Work
104(8)
Diana Cejas
Canfei to Canji: The Freedom of Being Loud
112(5)
Sandy Ho
Nurturing Black Disabled Joy
117(4)
Keah Brown
Last but Not Least--Embracing Asexuality
121(8)
Keshia Scott
Imposter Syndrome and Parenting with a Disability
129(5)
Jessica Slice
How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage
134(7)
Elsa Sjunneson
Selma Blair Became a Disabled Icon Overnight. Here's Why We Need More Stories Like Hers
141(8)
Zipporah Arielle
PART 3 DOING
Why My Novel Is Dedicated to My Disabled Friend Maddy
149(10)
A. H. Reaume
The Antiabortion Bill You Aren't Hearing About
159(5)
Rebecca Cokley
So. Not. Broken
164(4)
Alice Sheppard
How a Blind Astronomer Found a Way to Hear the Stars
168(6)
Wanda Di'az-Merced
Incontinence Is a Public Health Issue---And We Need to Talk About It
174(5)
Mari Ramsawakh
Falling/Burning: Hannah Gadsby, Nanette, and Being a Bipolar Creator
179(10)
Shoshana Kessock
Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time
189(8)
Ellen Samuels
Lost Cause
197(8)
Reyma McCoy McDeid
On NYC's Paratmnsit, Fighting for Safety, Respect, and Human Dignity
205(15)
Britney Wilson
Gaining Power through Communication Access
220(9)
Lateef McLeod
PART 4 CONNECTING
The Fearless Benjamin Lay: Activist, Abolitionist, Dwarf Person
229(3)
Eugene Grant
To Survive Climate Catastrophe, Look to Queer and Disabled Folks
232(4)
Patty Berne
Vanessa Raditz
Disability Solidarity: Completing the "Vision for Black Lives"
236(7)
Harriet Tubman Collective
Time's Up for Me, Too
243(7)
Karolyn Gehrig
Still Dreaming Wild Disability Justice Dreams at the End of the World
250(12)
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Love Means Never Having to Say... Anything
262(5)
Jamison Hill
On the Ancestral Plane: Crip Hand-Me-Downs and the Legacy of Our Movements
267(4)
Stacey Milbern
The Beauty of Spaces Createdfor and by Disabled People
271(6)
S.E. Smith
About the Editor 277(2)
About the Contributors 279(14)
Further Reading 293(12)
Permission Acknowledgments 305

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