Disability Biography

Love for a Deaf Rebel introduces listeners to a vivacious Canadian woman who was born into a silent world and with the foundation for schizophrenia. With pathos and nostalgia, the author recounts his roller-coaster ride with Pearl, a vivacious deaf maverick, who, unknown to him, had paranoid schizophrenia. We follow their encounters through actual notes written before Derrick learns sign language; we go on their motorcycle ride to Mexico and Guatemala; we watch as the happy couple moves to Bowen Island, a British Columbia community with just three paved roads.

Are You Two Sisters? is Susan Krieger's candid, revealing, and engrossing memoir about the intimacies of a lesbian couple. Krieger explores how she and her partner confront both the inner challenges of their relationship and the invisibility of lesbian identity in the larger world. Using a lively novelistic and autoethnographic approach that toggles back and forth in time, Krieger reflects on the evolution of her 40-year relationship. She describes building a life together, from sharing pets and travels to getting married.

Phyll Zone spent a lifetime feeling lost. Labeled “lazy,” “spacey,” and “careless,” he struggled in a world that refused to speak his language. The constant storm of ADHD and the silent sabotage of dyslexia weren't just academic challenges; they were emotional earthquakes that shattered his self-worth. Lost in Translation is more than a memoir—it’s a revelation. It’s the story of a late diagnosis that finally provided the map to a bewildering mind, transforming a lifetime of shame into a powerful new identity.

Dismantles the Woody Guthrie we have been taught—the rough-and-ready rambling’ man—to reveal an artist who discovered how intimacy is crucial for political struggle Woody Guthrie is often mythologized as the classic American “rambling’ man,” a real-life Steinbeckian folk hero who...

From two-time National Book Award nominee Melissa Fay Greene comes a profound and surprising account of dogs on the front lines of rescuing both children and adults from the trenches of grief, emotional, physical, and cognitive disability, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The Underdogs tells...

A serious illness destroyed Helen Keller's sight and hearing before she reached the age of two. At seven, she was introduced to Ann Sullivan, the beloved teacher and friend who helped Helen to make contact with her world. Through sheer determination and resolve, Helen learned to speak, read, and write, and prepared herself for entry into prep school by the age of 16. She later enrolled at Radcliffe and graduated with honors. Her motto: "There are no handicaps, only challenges."

This book chronicles the journey of Eritrean-born Joseph Woldu. As a child refugee, he found himself having to adapt to changes of place, language, and customs; then as a man forced to relearn much of the same after involvement in a disastrous accident two days before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. What makes Joseph's story so incredible is not that he survived change and tragedy, but how he continually found the strength to improve himself and his circumstances. His story reflects the importance good relationships play in our lives.

We were walking this journey together, yet alone. Two siblings from a close-knit, boisterous family of six. There is nothing like the camaraderie of family to give you the determination to persevere in spite of any obstacle. We were overwhelmed by the disease of multiple sclerosis as well as other autoimmune diseases. Our outward appearance of healthiness was deceiving. Unbeknownst to us, the disease of multiple sclerosis would eventually consume mobility, sight, memory, fine motor skills, speech, and so much more.

This book begins with focusing on dealing with the societal ramifications/stigma of mental health disorders, the LGBTQ spectrum, and also looking at the religious stigma of the two. Finally, I will be telling my life story mainly from the years of 2012 to 2018 for the most part. Coming to terms, with my mental health disorder and identifying as a gay male.

A journal-style book of what it's like to live with mental illness. Everyone is different, but this is how I experience mental illness every day.

This is a story about a mother and son on a road trip along the Pacific Coast of Southern California. Asher is a 19-year-old child/teen/man who is diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy and a visual impairment rendering him nonverbal, wheelchair bound, and visually impaired. Stacey is his devoted mother and a neuropsychologist who specializes in the assessment of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Recycled Human is a continuation of my first book, Damaged Goods, but Recycled Human is aimed more at the re-entry into the general public. A big part of that shift involves various "transitional services" which are in fact not helping people. In fact, the services meant to help a person like me develop can be yet another oppressive system. When a person wants to change and truly is ready to face change, it can be challenging to find genuine resources. So here it is...this is my testimony of what I saw in myself and the system that needed changing.

Kristy Sheridan survived a deadly plane crash and a sixty-foot plummet off a cliff before she learned to seek God’s will over her own desires. The crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 broke Kristy’s neck and stripped away the identity she found in her prized career. A decade later, she broke her neck again when she fell more than sixty feet down a canyon in Germany. Still, Kristy’s faith remained stagnant.

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.

What if the barriers we face aren’t walls but bridges waiting to be built? In Unstoppable: The Ric Nelson Story, disability rights advocate Ric Nelson invites listeners into his extraordinary journey of resilience, advocacy, and empowerment. Born with cerebral palsy, Ric learned early that the world wasn’t designed for someone like him. But instead of retreating, he chose to rewrite the narrative—not just for himself, but for countless others navigating similar challenges.

Es ist Nicoles zweiunddreißigster Geburtstag, als sie unter der Dusche steht und sich auf die Feier mit ihren zwei kleinen Kindern und ihrem liebevollen Mann freut. Abrupt wird sie aus ihren Gedanken gerissen, als sie einen Knoten in ihrer Brust ertastet. Eine Welt bricht für sie zusammen. Später stellen die Ärzte die Diagnose, dass in Nicoles Körper nicht nur ein hochaggressiver Tumor wächst, sondern dass sie außerdem dieselbe genetische Vorbelastung wie Angelina Jolie hat. Selbst nach erfolgreicher Therapie, bleibt die Wahrscheinlichkeit einer erneuten Erkrankung enorm hoch.

With both clean essays and jagged diary entries, this memoir tells the story of one person's progress through disability and volunteering, self-exploration, and discovery, and snippets of growth in the contemplative writing process itself. Ultimately, the question "Can I work?" is answered with the passage of time. A challenging but uplifting piece of writing, spanning over a half a year of lyric prose with a touch of poetry.

Der Wunsch, den Jakobsweg zu wandern und einfach mal rauszukommen, ist für viele Menschen ein Traum - egal, ob man gesund, stark und ausdauernd ist. Auch Menschen mit Behinderung gehen diesen Weg, um ihre Grenzen auszutesten, um auf ein Wunder zu hoffen oder vielleicht, um mal etwas anderes zu erleben. Genau das will ich auch. Etwas Neues sehen und hören - auch als Nichtsehender und Nichthörender, denn ich bin taubblind. Ich möchte dich auf meine Reise mitnehmen. Hier in meinem Buch kannst du mich begleiten.

In God’s Got Jokes, author Neosho C. Ponder, allows the listener into the most personal and vulnerable parts of her life. As she battled the hardships of cancer, she learned that some of those who supported her succumbed to their own battles of cancer. You will hear stories such as: Being evicted during chemotherapy, which finally led to her seeing the humor and not choosing to give up. The financial adversity that affects cancer patients too sick to work, those undergoing treatments, and multiple surgeries.

Already facing a wretched cancer diagnosis, a young man’s prospects for survival dim as he learns his treatments have not worked. Writing against the clock, he feverishly authors a story of profound joy and sadness exploring the life he could have lived. Desperately told, his story takes you through poignant memories, intimate relationships, and fantastical triumphs in a quest to make sense of it all and leave a legacy behind.