Disability Memoir

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...

Well-known disability activist and social media influencer, Melissa Blake, offers a frank, illuminating memoir and a call to action for disabled people and allies. In the summer of 2019, journalist Melissa Blake penned an op-ed for CNN Opinion. A conservative pundit caught wind of it, mentioning...

A memoir penned with one good finger, Ndopu writes about being profoundly disabled and profoundly successful Global humanitarian Eddie Ndopu was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare degenerative motor neuron disease affecting his mobility. He was told that he wouldn’t live beyond age five...

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.

On an overcast September day in 1993, Jim Abbott took the mound at Yankee Stadium and threw one of the most dramatic no-hitters in major-league history. The game was the crowning achievement in an unlikely success story, unseen in the annals of professional sports. In Imperfect, the one-time big...

Meet the exhausted group of caregiving mothers who offer extraordinary care to a child with disabilities or unique needs. These unsung heroes, who walk invisibly among us, dedicate time, energy, love, and their entire lives to help their loved one who is unable to help themselves. A child with a rare degenerative disease. A sibling with autism. A teen wading through anxiety and depression. An adult child with a debilitating illness. A child with extreme ADHD.

" Bizarrement, en tant que société, nous accordons à la cécité un caractère bien plus dramatique que cette condition physique ne le mérite peut-être. Nous...

Twitch is a frank and funny memoir about picking up the pieces when personal tragedy hits. In 2021, Irish Examiner columnist, stylist, author and podcaster Annmarie O'Connor was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's disease, an incurable neurodegenerative condition broadly affecting movement and mental health. Though she is no longer working as a stylist as part of her career due to Parkinson's complications, Twitch outlines her journey from a life-altering diagnosis to becoming an activist and agent of change.

" On ne saura jamais quel aurait été mon destin sans cette maladie – une méningite bactérienne foudroyante à l’âge de six ans –, mais je n’aurais sans doute pas vécu le quart de ce que j’ai eu la chance de vivre jusqu’à présent. Je suis Théo Curin, vingt-deux ans, amputé des quatre membres, bien dans ma tête, bien dans ma peau. Quand on me demande comment je réagirais si on me rendait bras et jambes, je réponds : “Non, merci, je ne saurais qu’en faire !” J’ai des choses à dire et le sentiment d’être écouté, que demander de plus ? "

An unflinching and luminous memoir that explores a father’s philosophical transformation when he must reconsider the questions what makes us human? and whose life is worth living? Before becoming a father, Chris Gabbard was a fast-track academic finishing his doctoral dissertation at Stanford...

With his signature acerbic wit and hilarious voice, 20-something author, blogger, and entrepreneur Shane Burcaw is back with an essay collection about living a full life in a body that many people perceive as a tragedy. From anecdotes about first introductions where people patted him on the head instead of shaking his hand, to stories of passersby mistaking his able-bodied girlfriend for a nurse, Shane tackles awkward situations and assumptions with humor and grace.

Inclusion isn’t always about grand gestures. Sometimes, it can begin in the smallest of moments. Inclusion Moments is a collection of short stories and reflections drawn from the lived and professional experience of the author, Poggy Murray Whitham, from the world of engineering and beyond, seen through their perspective as a Black, Queer, Disabled, and Autistic person.

In 1959, the year Terry Galloway turned nine, the voices of everyone she loved began to disappear. No one yet knew that an experimental antibiotic given to her mother had wreaked havoc on her fetal nervous system, eventually causing her to go deaf. As a self-proclaimed "child freak," she acted...

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.

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?

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.

In April of 2004, the long downward spiraling of Amy Bingaman's mental illness could no longer be hidden or ignored much less written off as a side-product of a colorful and quirky character. With no family able to help and no resources, she was involuntarily locked up in the draconian, archaic labyrinth that is the Wyoming Mental Health System. Armed with only a pocket dictionary and any paper she could find to write on, Amy wrote not only as a journal but at times as her only coping mechanism to salvage what was left of a breaking mind in a love/hate relationship with her alter-ego.

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.

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.