Disability Memoir

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.

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.

Speaking My Truth is about a young man named Abdulahi Hassan who is born with a physical disability called Cerebral Palsy and tries to live a normal life. Regardless of his daily struggles he faces physically and mentally he is slowly learning to speak his truth and taking control of his own narrative one step at a time with a single beautiful smile.

She's never taught a class in her life. But when the City of Chicago calls on blind writer Beth Finke to teach a memoir-writing class for older adults, she reluctantly agrees. What she learns about her students, their stories, and herself will move and inspire you. Written the way Beth hears life, you will come to know and love Minerva, Wanda, Hannelore, and the whole colorful cast of characters who build a community around Beth's classes. Generously sprinkled with excerpts in her students' own voices, Beth's book will convince you to get your own stories down on paper.

In this unique and exhilarating autobiography, Allan Jones - Canada’s first blind diplomat - vividly describes how an untreatable eye disease slowly decimated his visual world, most challengingly during his postings in Tokyo and New Delhi, and how he discovered and took to heart the revelatory Indian philosophy that changed his life.

For over twenty years, Dara Baldwin has often been the only person of color in the room when significant disability policy decisions are made. Disenfranchisement of people of color and multi-marginalized communities within the disability rights community is not new and has left many inside the community feeling frustrated and unheard. In Demanding Solidarity, Baldwin candidly shares her journey to becoming a disability activist and policymaker in DC while critiquing the disability rights community.

In this deeply moving memoir, Dr. Bhaskar Bora recounts his life-changing journey through a spinal cord injury and a battle with cancer. I Died Standing Still is a raw and powerful story of resilience, courage, and transformation. More than a personal narrative, it is a testament to the human spirit’s ability to rise from adversity and find meaning, creativity, and hope in the darkest times.

This is the biography of a young man with some neurological differences, written in the first person. Through his eyes, we see how he perceives his life and negotiates his reality. His world and his understandings of life may be different from the norm, but we learn to appreciate a special type of soul that should be acknowledged and celebrated as part of human diversity. This book demonstrates the love and nurturance of his mother and the dynamics of his relationship with her. We also enjoy hearing about the comfortable lifestyle that Marcelo has been given, including his worldwide travels.

Elaine Asato conta como reinventou sua vida após perder quase totalmente a visão aos 29 anos. Guiada pelo conceito finlandês SISU - força, coragem e persistência -, tornou-se referência em liderança e desenvolvimento humano, impactando milhares de pessoas. Porque a verdadeira força não está em um único impulso diante do desafio, mas na coragem de seguir, se transformar e viver uma vida autêntica e extraordinária.

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.

Lorenzo Amurri non nasce come scrittore, lo diventa in seguito a un tragico incidente di sci che, a soli 26 anni, frantuma la strada artistica sulla quale viaggiava sin da giovanissimo: chitarrista rock, produttore musicale. Un ragazzo dinamico e trasgressivo senza mezze misure. Dall'incidente e dalla sua nuova condizione segnata dalla tetraplegia e dall'impossibilità di stringere ancora tra le braccia la sua chitarra, Lorenzo rinasce. Nel 2008 decide di affidare al suo blog Tracce di ruote "riflessioni, denunce e cronaca della sua seconda vita".

Stoney McGurrin, in his debut book, brings us on the adventure of his lifetime. Having spent months in the hospital as a four-year-old, where he almost lost his arm, only to have it saved by a famous French surgeon Dr. Chance, he left Leitrim as a teenager on ship across the Atlantic to New York City. The stories are exciting, sad, happy, and true; from 1941 to the present, from pencil to paper.

The book is an exciting true story filled with adventure and humorous anecdotes. The narrative starts by providing a background from earlier ancestors - through four generations. The author gives a unique account, beginning in Chipinge, located in Zimbabwe's eastern highlands. The villagers are confused by the ambiguous nature of how their ancestral land changed ownership.

In the mid-1970s, brothers Buddy and Jimmy Miley were close, both on the verge of impressive athletic careers. A promising high school quarterback, Buddy's potential was cut short by an injury that left him quadriplegic. Immobile and imprisoned in his body for decades, Buddy would watch life pass by from his wheelchair, living at home under his mother's and brother's care and wondering what his life could have been.

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?

For much of history, people with learning disabilities have been regarded as unworthy of interest—often seen as a threat to the social order and sometimes dismissed as barely human. While recent years have seen an improvement, learning-disabled people are still treated as fundamentally different. Beautiful Lives is a personal and pragmatic account, told through the eyes of a father whose son has severe learning disabilities. From early civilisation to the chilling realities of twentieth-century eugenics, this powerful book uncovers a startling and rarely told history.

Driven by the pursuit of perfection and the desire to truly be loved and accepted, Cynthia battled an eating disorder for thirteen long years. “Starving, Bingeing, Purging” is her raw, authentic story, told firsthand; a story not just of suffering, but of resilience, victory, and hope against all odds. In this book, Cynthia openly explores the complex issues of anorexia, bulimia, purging, and food addiction, and shares the intimate details of her journey to reclaim her life.

Waste no day to achieve the impossible! When Pennsylvania started testing newborns for metabolic diseases, Adam Settle was one of the first to be diagnosed with Cobalamin-C Deficiency. Legally blind and mentally delayed, Adam never let his limitations hold him back from accomplishing his dreams. His love for people and his desire to help others comes through the sections of this audiobook. Whatever has been holding you back, this audiobook will help you charge through the obstacles you face to achieve the impossible. Adam’s story will inspire, encourage, and give you hope.

Jon Sadler was four when he had his first seizure following an episode of high fever. That made him the object of constant concern to his family and dictated almost every decision he made. With medication, Jon was deemed seizure-free for several years, though his speech was permanently affected. After a college sailing accident, he had his first grand mal seizure (loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions).

Jordan’s traumatic birth caused brain damage, whose limits he refused to accept. He embraced every struggle, learned to work through his weaknesses, and ultimately, redefined himself despite his learning disability label. All thanks to his dedicated cheer squad - family, friends, and God - he knows his potential has no limits, except those he puts on himself. But that doesn’t mean he’s escaped significant hiccups and challenges along the way.