onrainydays's Book Journey

Wide-ranging essay collection featuring prominent disabled writers, scholars, and activists. At times a lovely hug for the disabled community and at times a cathartic scream into the void, this anthology is expansive and unfiltered in all the right ways.

Alice Wong has brought together an incredibly diverse group of disabled humans, and so many intersections are explored. The "Visibility" in Disability Visibility is deeply felt and represented in the wide range of voices included: queer, trans, and nonbinary people; Black, Indigenous, and people of color; those with physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, mental illness, chronic illness/pain, and those living at the intersections of multiple disabilities.

While there’s plenty to learn--especially for those new to disability politics--several more abstract, metaphorical essays break up the pace and allow for deeper reflection. There are plenty of emotionally hard-hitting essays, too, that tackle topics relatable to disabled and nondisabled people alike: motherhood, work, grief, sex, and community. This book introduces lots of conversations not only about disability justice but also disability theory such as crip time and technoableism.

Like any anthology, some pieces resonated more deeply than others, but every essay felt purposeful and at home in the collection. The different writing styles and topics actually worked in favor of the book's thesis, as it helped capture the vast diversity of a community that is often reduced to a handful of stereotypes. My absolute favorite essay, titled "I'm Tired of Chasing a Cure" by Liz Moore, will have a special place in my heart for a long time as someone navigating chronic pain and late-diagnosed disorders.

If you’re going to start anywhere with disability writing, start here. It's accessible and timely, and does a wonderful job representing the diversity of experience and opinions within the disability community. Read it, and use it to branch out, get connected with disabled writers and activists, and learn even more.

A beautiful collection of essays ranging from calls for accessibility, for understanding, for belonging, for community and everything in between. Though the collection had some heavy-hitters, there was never a feeling of despair. Even when sad, they were inspiring. They reached for hope. I felt seen and understood in a way that doesn’t often occur to me.

I highly recommend this one.