02/12/2021
It’s International Day of People with Disability! This is a day to celebrate and remember the diversity of the disability community, our achievements, our challenges, and our solidarity through community.
In the spirit of a day when stories are shared and powerful discussions are had, I’d like to share with you my top 3 books by authors with disability:
Eighteen Point Five is a book about a collection of disabled people in Australia, their experiences and interests. The book’s title is derived from the statistic that 18.5% of people in Australia live with disability.
𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘜𝘱 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 is an anthology of stories, poetry, essays and graphic art by people living with disability and chronic illness. This anthology was edited by the well-known appearance advocate, Carly Findlay.
My third pick is a book by Zach Anner, a comedian living with cerebral palsy in the United States — of ‘Workout Wednesday’ fame. 𝘐𝘧 𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥 is a book in which Zach tackles, with hilarity and subtlety, stories of the foibles and adventures of living with a disability in a world that still isn’t built to make it easier for us.
Honourable mentions go to the biographies of Kurt Fearnley and Dylan Alcott. I haven’t read these books fully, but I think that their stories are important in the Australian context to show where they have come from and the communities around them that made them who they are.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of books about or by PWD. You might be surprised by the number of authors with disability out there!
Do you have any favourite books about disability, or by authors with disability? What do you like about them?
