Disability Biography

For 18 years of my life, I dealt with harm daily. I suffered over 40 years with a substantial assortment of trauma-related manifestations. The devastation of the problems began when I was a child and lasted until I was in my mid-40s. I know my story sounds bleak but don’t be discouraged. Peace, laughter, joy, and happiness eventually came my way.

When adventurous overseas traveler, Amy, is diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, she has no idea what difficulties lie ahead. After finishing mobility training from the Bureau of Blindness, she thinks her problems are solved, but when Amy tackles the streets with her white cane, the real fun begins. Determinedly sweeping away her fears, she starts to celebrate the reality of vision-impaired independence. Join the chaos and laughter in this series of uplifting anecdotes as Amy looks to the lighter side of mobility.

Love Is Blind is the memoir of Ruth Vallis. Blind before the age of three, Ruth was the youngest pioneer of integration in the public school system in Canada, blazing a trail for many to follow. At every stage of her extraordinary life, Ruth defied the low expectations of others, and took on such challenges as biking from Ottawa to Toronto, completing a master’s of science degree online before technology accessibility was legislated, and more. Through it all there was her tender, tough-loving mother, Peach.

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.

Rheumatoid arthritis was taking over my life. I could barely walk, dress myself, and perform simple daily tasks. I did everything I could to find healing. I tried all of the special diets; I was on all of the medications. Something wasn't right, and I was just getting sicker. This audiobook is about healing from the inside out. Your body is your greatest gift, dearest friend. The only difference between having a body that is your enemy and a body that is your friend is learning to speak its language. You can overcome chronic pain! You are worthy of a great life full of health and happiness!

In Parkinson's & Recreation 2, Dennis shares ways in which he and his wife are traversing the progression of PD and is first and foremost a written legacy he is attempting to leave for his family. As a part of this attempt, Dennis has gone on a journey of uncovering his family roots. What would you feel if you discovered Viking kings in your lineage? What would you feel if you uncovered the mystery of how the Jernigan line was woven throughout the fabric of English nobility? What would such revelations mean for you and your family?

This isn’t your typical recovery memoir. In Not Another Recovery Success Story (Or Is It?), Mike Allen offers a raw, unfiltered look at his decades-long battle with alcoholism, mental illness, and the crushing weight of an identity crisis. With brutal honesty and dark humor, Allen explores how his addiction wasn’t just about alcohol—it was about trying to fill the void of not knowing who he really was.

John Cotter was thirty years old when he first began to notice a ringing in his ears. Soon the ringing became a roar inside his head. Next came partial deafness, then dizziness and vertigo that rendered him unable to walk, work, sleep, or even communicate. At a stage of life when he expected to be emerging fully into adulthood, teaching, and writing books, he found himself “crippled and dependent” and in search of care.

A deaf writer’s exploration of language, communication, and what it means to be articulate—and her journey to reclaim her voice Rachel Kolb was born profoundly deaf the same year that the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, and she grew up as part of the first generation of deaf...

This audiobook provides insight into the life of a neurodiverse Black girl from the Midlands as she embarks on her journey through the UK school system. This book unveils and highlights the unique experiences of neurodiverse people of color and the many challenges they face. In this book, 24-year-old British-Nigerian Oluseyitan Ojedokun gives an account of her struggles through school. She shares the many dreams and goals she had, despite the feeling of constant dismay.

After you're done listening to Glenna's story, you cannot help but admit she's led a hard life. She's gone through more than her fair share of trouble, in different ways. Some of it she invited; some she did not. To say that she had a troubled childhood would be an understatement. Cutting a long story short, she spent a considerable time working as a prostitute. She was a drug addict. Somewhere along the way, she caught AIDS and Hepatitis C.

Ben Mattlin lives a normal, independent life. Why is that interesting? Because Mattlin was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a congenital weakness from which he was expected to die in childhood. Not only did Mattlin live through childhood, he became one of the first students in a wheelchair to attend Harvard, from which he graduated and became a professional writer. His advantage?

Clem Bastow grew up feeling like she’d missed a key memo on human behaviour. She found the unspoken rules of social engagement confusing, arbitrary and often stressful. Friendships were hard, relationships harder and the office was a fluorescent-lit nightmare of anxiety. It wasn’t until Clem was diagnosed as autistic, at age 36, that things clicked into focus. Clem reflects as an autistic adult on her formative experiences as an undiagnosed young person, from the asphalt playground of St Joseph's Primary School in Melbourne to working as an entertainment journalist in Hollywood.

An acclaimed poet reclaims her origin story as the queer daughter of a Muslim Nigerian immigrant and a Black American visual artist in this groundbreaking memoir, combining lyrical prose, biting criticism, and haunting visuals. “Hafizah Augustus Geter is a genuine artist, not bound by genre or...

When Schuyler Rummel-Hudson was 18 months old, a question about her lack of speech by her pediatrician set in motion a journey that continues today. When she was diagnosed with bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (an extremely rare neurological disorder), her parents were given a name for the monster that had been stalking them from doctor to doctor, and from despair to hope, and back again.

Growing Up With Asperger's provides advice, stories, and anecdotes for autistic listeners both young and old, and parents of autistic children. Funny and down-to-earth with an honest look at life from an autistic perspective.

Escrito quando Naoki Higashida tinha apenas 13 anos, o conjunto de ensaios reunidos neste audiolivro conta, do ponto de vista do próprio Higashida, a experiência de ser autista. Preso em seu mundo individual, muitas vezes ele exibe comportamentos vistos como estranhos, peculiares, “inadequados”. Seja repetindo palavras e frases aparentemente sem sentido ou evitando contato visual com outras pessoas, Naoki tem uma enorme dificuldade de se comunicar e de socializar.

Look at It This Way answers questions we all may have been reluctant to ask, it gives us a glimpse into what blind people experience living in a sighted world, and it breaks through barriers that may cause people to think that differences equate to superiority or inferiority.

A hopeful look at coping with the ravages of serious chronic illness by an accomplished journalist, a contributing columnist for the New York Times, and former senior producer of the CBS Evening News Richard Cohen, a veteran journalist, has lived with multiple sclerosis for 30 years. Diagnosed...

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.