Disability Biography

Driving Myasthenia Gravis Into Remission is a book based on the personal beliefs and experiences of the author Romerol Stanton regarding the autoimmune neurological disorder Myasthenia Gravis. It is a book that provides information on all-natural and alternative treatments that have been effective in alleviating the symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis. This book also gives insight into the author's trials, tribulations and triumphs living with Myasthenia Gravis.

At once heartbreakingly honest and strikingly witty, Holding On by Letting Go is the unforgettable true story of one woman's journey through despair to acceptance and hope. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of the light that can be found in the darkest of times.

This is a story in Victorian England of how in 1884 Frederick Treves, Surgeon and Lecturer in Anatomy at the London Hospital arranged for the "Elephant Man" (whose distorted grotesque face and deformed body made him a "freak") to visit the medical college next to the hospital for the purpose of a lecture. They would later become friends and Treves the savior of the man named John Merrick. This is Treves' memoir.

At a time when we are all more rudderless than ever, we look for the very best teachers and mentors to guide us. In Fully Alive, an unusual and gripping memoir, Timothy Shriver shows how his teachers have been the world's most forgotten minority: people with intellectual disabilities. In these pages we meet the individuals who helped him come of age and find a deeper and more meaningful way to see the world.

When Helen Keller was very young, she got a rare disease that made her deaf and blind. Suddenly, she couldn't see or hear at all, and it was hard for her to communicate with anyone. But when she was six years old, she met someone who changed her life forever: her teacher, Annie Sullivan. With Miss Sullivan's help, Helen learned how to speak sign language and read Braille. Armed with the ability to express herself, Helen grew up to be come a social activist, leading the fight for people with disabilities and so many other causes.

Can four words change a life? On a rainy autumn day, four words changed the life of a young cardiology nurse. Four little words hurled across a dimly lit exam room struck fear in a mother’s heart. “You are legally blind.” Anita’s journey through blindness began with the devastating diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa, an untreatable, degenerative retinal disease. At the age of 33, she was forced to face not only vision loss, but also the loss of driving, her nursing career, and even her independence. Anita was convinced that life was over.

This groundbreaking memoir offers a glimpse into an activist's journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice, from the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project.

Kevin’s life was forever changed on a random Wednesday when he was just 20 years old. An aspiring musician at the time, he was planning to attend music school and pursue his dream of becoming a composer. A stroke dismantled every plan and everything in his life. In Taken By Surprise, Kevin chronicles his battles with the stroke. After a risky brain surgery, he was in a coma for nearly a month and spent six weeks in an acute rehab facility to learn how to walk and talk all over again.

You are more than your limits. Choosing to see herself as more than a person with a disability and wheelchair user, Lolo chooses to live a bold and courageous life now because representation matters. She created this intersectional guide to provide tools for people with disabilities to thrive in personal growth, independence, and community building. Add this guide to your list of inclusion books!

DEMENTIA and OUR LOVE, Caregiving as spiritual practice, is the story of Gary and Heather's love that sustained them through an unusual and courageous life across continents, including tending Gary and his onset of dementia at 73 years. The story helped them remember their love and use this energy to move through the hard times. We will always remember us this way, a song by Lady Gaga, was pivotal in keeping Heathers focus.

Backbone is a life-fulfilling message about managing chronic pain and living a life of purpose. For two decades, Karen Duffy, New York Times bestselling author, former MTV VJ, Revlon model, and actress, has managed to live an enriching life despite living in a state of constant pain. In this powerful, inspirational, funny, and important manual for surviving pain, Duffy draws on her experience as a patient advocate, trained recreational therapist, and hospice chaplain to illuminate gratifying methods people can use to cope with chronic pain.

Until sophomore year of high school, 15-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home. But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.

Despite being a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2008, Philip Schultz could never shake the feeling of being exiled to the “dummy class” in school, where he was largely ignored by his teachers and peers and not expected to succeed. Not until many years later, when his oldest son was diagnosed with dyslexia, did Schultz realize that he suffered from the same condition.

Bonner Paddock grew up just wanting to be ordinary. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age eleven, he guarded the truth about his health, building a normal life and keeping his secret from everyone—most of all himself—for the next eighteen years. But the sudden death of a friend’s young son due to cerebral palsy forced Bonner to reevaluate who he was and spurred him to pursue one breathtaking experience after another.

Given an epilepsy diagnosis at age 49, Linda’s once solid life fell apart. Her seizures uncontrolled by medications and with no access to treatment, Linda had no choice but to seek help in another province. From 2016 to 2018, she travelled between BC and AB, spending up to four weeks in a hospital apart from family and friends.

Discover the untold story behind one of Kathleen Norris's deeply personal relationships in Rebecca Sue. Best known for her insightful and poignant reflections on faith and life, Norris steps into uncharted territory by sharing an intimate memoir exploring the life of her younger sister Becky. Born with perinatal hypoxia, Becky's life was shaped by physical and mental disabilities, yet her spirit and resilience illuminate the hidden power of faith, family, and love.

Success is a Special Need is the powerful memoir of Jeffrey L. McCain, who shares his life story of overcoming dyslexia to build a successful business. With personal anecdotes and reflections, McCain recounts how he navigated his educational struggles, developed survival skills, and eventually achieved extraordinary success in the traffic signal industry. This inspiring tale is one of resilience, innovation, and determination in the face of adversity.

At age two, Helen Keller became deaf and blind. She lived in a world of silence and darkness and she spent the rest of her life struggling to break through it. But with the help of teacher Annie Sullivan, Helen learned to read, write, and do many amazing things. This inspiring biography is perfect for young middle-grade listeners.

Written as a narrative short story, CallyRae shares her candid insights as she journeys through surviving with autoimmune diseases. Suffering from chronic daily pain, infections, and extreme fatigue, her outlook was one of frustration and hopelessness. As her life journey down the autoimmune highway took twists and turns, she learned to read the signs and listen to her body, mind, and spirit. She continues on the journey but has replaced pain with vitality, infections with health, and extreme fatigue with immense energy.

Born with cerebral palsy, Geri Jewell inspired a generation of young people when she became the first person with a disability to appear in a recurring role on prime-time television, with her groundbreaking character, Cousin Geri, on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life. The book's title - I’m Walking As Straight As I Can - has a double meaning, referring to both Jewell's sexuality and her extraordinary struggle growing up with cerebral palsy.