Recs if you like Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist...

in honor of disability pride month, here is a series on the colours of the flag! our fifth colour on this flag is red, which represents any and all physical disabilities. examples of physical disabilities include cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease, dwarfism, diabetes, wheelchair users, polio, asthma, muscular dystrophy, cancer, scoliosis, ALS, arthritis and many more. books within this list will be both fiction and non-fiction. as always, feel free to comment any you recommend!

Different kinds of non-fiction books about gender, feminism, and related topics. People like black women or neurodivergent women are twice or more marginalised, and often it's not clear whether treatment was due to (for example) skin colour or perceived gender, so I'll add some books about other kinds of marginalisation as well. I haven't read all books (yet); if one is problematic, please tell me so in a comment!

A huge list of nonfiction books encompassing Disabled, Deaf, Neurodivergent, Ill bodyminds.

Similar lists of mine to check out: Disabled, Deaf, Neurodivergent, Ill Poetry AND Disability Sexuality

books written by disabled authors

Non-fiction books about disability by disabled authors

A collection of books by a range of disabled authors exploring what it means to navigate a world that isn’t built with accessibility in mind. Personal stories with sharp insight, these works challenge what we think we know about disability, chronic illness, mental health, neurodiversity, the myth of recovery, and what it means to belong.

List is a work in progress!

Centering own voices, but inclusive of disability theory

I'm always looking for good disability rep in a good story, both fiction and non. Note on The Luminaries: specifically included for its rep of a MC who needs glasses, where it isn’t forgotten by the 2nd half of the story. Note on Set the Record Straight: I’ve chosen to focus on physical disabilities/chronic illnesses in this list - this is the exception. I thought it had such a good rep of neurodiversity that I had to include it.

It's towards the end of disability pride month, so I thought I would recommend some of the nonfiction books that I've either used for my studies or would handsell as a bookseller. If you have any other suggestions, let me know!

Happy disability pride month!

books that are the basis for adaptations and other book-related films and TV shows being released in the U.S. in November 2026