Disability Biography

With style and straight talk, musician and activist Lachi redefines disability as a cultural movement, an empowering identity, and a blueprint for innovation that you can’t afford to ignore. Lachi is an award-winning singer and leader who awakens the world to this truth: Disability has long...

Ancient Mexican spiritual practices are almost lost to the world, yet they contain powerful techniques that can heal and bring resolution to some of life's most important aspects: health, emotions, abundance, and the quest for enlightenment.Here, world-renowned Mexican healer Sergio Magana...

Inside My Outside: An Independent Mind in a Dependent Body provides an in-depth look into the life of a young woman with cerebral palsy who cannot walk or talk but who uses an electronic device for communication. This memoir covers three full days, from morning to night, in Sara Pyszka’s life, providing glimpses of past relationships, friendships, schooling, and outrageous stories about the challenges of hiring, firing, and working with personal care assistants.

Devenir aveugle : pour Marie-Christine comme pour quiconque, cette idée est inconcevable et terrifiante. C’est pourtant la sentence que la jeune femme de 30 ans reçoit au printemps 2018 : elle ne verra plus. Jamais. Les couchers de soleil, son visage dans le miroir ou la frimousse de son fils : désormais, tout n’existera que dans sa mémoire, jusqu’au jour où ces images disparaîtront comme peau de chagrin.

From Beneath the Ice is more than a book, it is a triumph of the human spirit. Todd’s mind was hijacked, but he slowly took the helm and charted a new course. It was a difficult process for him to write this book, but in the end, it was empowering. Publishing was even harder, knowing that his darkest moments would be ‘out there’ for the world to see. He knew his primary focus was to help people and contribute to ending the stigma about mental illness. To do this, he had to be more courageous than he had ever been.

Damiano è un ragazzo grande, grosso e con pochi amici perché ama passare le sue giornate facendo cose che gli altri ragazzi non capiscono, come fissare il turbinio vorticoso della lavatrice o giocare per ore con i coperchi delle pentole di sua nonna. Ma la sua vera passione è quella per la musica, soprattutto classica, visto che vorrebbe diventare un cantante lirico. Anche se ama pure il jazz, la musica da discoteca, la dance, la techno e chi più ne ha più ne metta. Tranne la musica rock, quella che invece sua sorella minore Margherita ascolta a tutto volume nella stanzetta accanto.

We all face obstacles that threaten to hold us back. For Robert Paylor, his paralysis wasn’t a metaphor. In the biggest game of his life, competing for the collegiate rugby national championship, Robert suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Doctors told him he’d never walk or move his hands again. But Robert refused to accept that fate.

Blindness in the 1950s was a social stigma. Stephen's mother wanted a normal life for him, so he fought desperately to uphold the illusion of sight. For a child frantic to fit in, each day was an exhausting pretence. He managed to ride a bike, when even reading involved pressing his nose to the page and painfully forcing his eyes to concentrate. Head up, he strode through a carefully memorized labyrinth of streets, hoping to fool passers-by that he could actually see.

Hannah Daly is a pediatric occupational therapist and an advanced sensory integration practitioner who is profoundly dyslexic, dyspraxic, and has sensory processing disorder. She has multiple university degrees but still cannot read or write. In Knowing No Boundaries, she gives an honest account of living with these hidden disabilities. This book is a unique coming-of-age, feel-good memoir that strikes the balance of vulnerability and humor.

Klim's journey to greatness began behind the Iron Curtain, in communist-era Poland. His family made a bid for freedom in the 1980s and immigrated to Australia, where swimming became his passport into a new culture and eventually led him to become one of his adopted country's great sporting heroes. His crowning moment came at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he captured the hearts of millions with his gold medal performances and world record-breaking swims. But being a champion athlete does not come without personal challenges.

Ce parcours c'est avant tout une belle histoire d'amour. Une histoire à deux qui malheureusement se termine mais accroît le désir inconditionnel de devenir père, le combat d'un homme pour connaître la paternité, y compris seul. À travers ce témoignage, Mathieu Ceschin se livre sans filtre sur ce combat, celui d'une vie, pour toucher à la paternité.

Dive headfirst into the urban symphony of "Smelling the Taste of Sound", a riveting memoir of a newly diagnosed, neurodivergent trainee lawyer. Her sensory issues are compounded by the sirens that punctuate the daily grind of a tough, inner-city law firm. Amidst encounters with eccentric characters and surreal personalities, our protagonist navigates the chaos and unorthodox office dynamics with comical observations and resilience.

Kathleen O’Neill courageously chronicles her journey through the turbulent realms of bipolar disorder, addiction, and recovery. With raw honesty and resilience, Kathleen shares the battles she fought within herself and against social stigmas, laying bare her struggles, triumphs, and the moments of grace that shaped her healing. This memoir offers a compelling look at the complex layers of mental health , the strength of the human spirit, and the transformative power of hope.

Sumérgete en la extraordinaria vida de Gerardo Schmedling, un hombre cuyo poder espiritual inquebrantable desafió las adversidades de la parálisis de Guillain-Barré en su juventud y las secuelas que afectaron su movilidad de por vida. Este relato, narrado por su prima María Mercedes Olivares Schmedling, conocida como Mechas, quien compartió con él desde su infancia, revela cómo Gerardo se convirtió en el arquitecto de un movimiento global de transformación personal y social.

An inspiring and unforgettable memoir that provides hope to others who are experiencing depression, mania, or psychosis, RESILIENT is a deeply personal account about life with mental illness, hearing loss and resiliency. Liz's journey provides encouragement for patients, families, friends, and healthcare workers by showing that recovery is possible.

This narrative nonfiction novel chronicles my son’s twenty-year journey to get his Cushing’s disease diagnosed—a journey that took far too long. Throughout the book, I highlight opportunities for testing that could have been done according to endocrinologist guidelines. The core message is clear: early diagnosis is crucial for people to live vibrant lives.

Jen Bricker was born without legs. Shocked and uncertain they could care for her, her biological parents gave her up for adoption. In her loving adoptive home, there was just one simple rule: never say "can't". And pretty soon there was nothing this small but mighty powerhouse set her sights on that she couldn't conquer: roller-skating, volleyball, power tumbling, and spinning from silk ribbons 30 feet in the air. Everything Is Possible is her incredible story.

Due to horrible physical deformities, he spent much of his life as a fairground freak. He was hounded, persecuted, and starving, until his fortune changed and he was rescued, housed, and fed by the distinguished surgeon, Frederick Treves. The subject of several books, a Broadway hit, and a film, Joseph Merrick has become part of popular mythology. Here, in this fully revised edition containing much fresh information, are the true and un-romanticized facts of his life.

After a diagnosis of a degenerative eye disease, John Samuel’s life—and his chance at success—started to vanish. In a world systemically unequipped for accessibility, disability inclusion is often left out of conversations about diversity. For people with disabilities, it can feel impossible to adapt and thrive when you’re already set up for failure.

Damiano e Margherita sono due fratelli che hanno molte cose in comune: la voglia di mettersi in gioco, la caparbietà e la tenacia nel voler inseguire i propri sogni, e l'autismo. Insieme si sono esibiti in televisione e, mano nella mano sul palcoscenico, sembrano finalmente aver trovato il loro posto nel mondo. Già dalla mattina successiva, però, i due sono obbligati a tornare alla realtà. Damiano vive a Rimini e ha le idee molto chiare sul futuro: una moglie – "l'altra metà della mela" – con cui avere dai dodici ai venti figli, milioni di dischi venduti, concerti in tutto il mondo.