Disability Memoir

Amit Patel is working as a trauma doctor when a rare condition causes him to lose his sight within 36 hours. Totally dependent on others and terrified of stepping outside with a white cane after he's assaulted, he hits rock bottom. He refuses to leave home on his own for three months. With the support of his wife, Seema, he slowly adapts to his new situation, but how could life ever be the way it was? Then his guide dog, Kika, comes along....

At a time when we are all more rudderless than ever, we look for the very best teachers and mentors to guide us. In Fully Alive, an unusual and gripping memoir, Timothy Shriver shows how his teachers have been the world's most forgotten minority: people with intellectual disabilities. In these pages we meet the individuals who helped him come of age and find a deeper and more meaningful way to see the world.

Le 8 décembre 1995, à la suite d’un accident vasculaire cérébral, Jean-Dominique Bauby est plongé dans un coma profond. Quand il en sort, toutes ses fonctions motrices sont détériorées. Atteint de ce qu'on appelle le " locked-in syndrome ", il est littéralement enfermé à l'intérieur de lui-même ; il ne peut plus bouger, manger, parler ou même simplement respirer sans assistance. Dans ce corps inerte, seul un œil bouge.

Condamné par la maladie, Olivier Goy partage avec la journaliste Anne Fulda son inlassable combat pour mieux faire accepter le handicap et lever des fonds pour la recherche, et, surtout, appelle à regarder et aimer la vie pleinement?! Olivier a 46 ans quand on lui diagnostique la maladie de Charcot en 2020. Une maladie neurodégénérative qui se traduit par une paralysie progressive des muscles, mais laisse au malade ses pleines capacités intellectuelles. Espérance de vie?: 3 à 5 ans.

Tara Sidhoo Fraser is thirty-one years old when a rare mutation in her brain causes a stroke. Awakening after surgery with no memory of her previous life, she attempts to piece it all back together through a haze of amnesia. Yet, as memories do begin to surface, they are seen through someone else's eyes—the person whose body she stole, whom she calls Ghost.

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.

Discover the untold story behind one of Kathleen Norris's deeply personal relationships in Rebecca Sue. Best known for her insightful and poignant reflections on faith and life, Norris steps into uncharted territory by sharing an intimate memoir exploring the life of her younger sister Becky. Born with perinatal hypoxia, Becky's life was shaped by physical and mental disabilities, yet her spirit and resilience illuminate the hidden power of faith, family, and love.

Women's lives are shaped by sexism and expectations. Disabled people's lives are shaped by ableism and a complete lack of expectations. But what happens when you're subjected to both sets of rules? This powerful, honest, hilarious, and furious memoir from journalist and advocate Lucy Webster...

In a candid and witty memoir, Jodi recounts how her life was transformed when, as a 33-year-old wife and mother, she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Unwilling to accept her new fate, Jodi's family searches for a doctor who will join their fight against the odds.

In Laughing and Crying Alone, we are offered a compelling account of the struggles associated with bipolar disorder. Alternately heartbreaking and uplifting, we follow Lisa through the laughter and the tears. Exploring Lisa's feelings of isolation, Laughing and Crying Alone provides compassion and validation to those with mental illness while shedding a much-needed light on mental health. And through it all, we see a wife and mother come to terms with the uncertainties of living with bipolar disorder and reemerge to embrace the new normal with confidence and ease.

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...

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 fascinating, darkly funny comeback story of learning to live with a broken mind after a near-fatal traumatic brain injury—from the acclaimed author of The Hike “Drew Magary has produced a remarkable account of his journey, one that is filled with terror, tenderness, beauty, and grace...

The GIs called her Joey. Hundreds owed their lives to the tiny Filipina who stashed explosives in spare tires, tracked Japanese troop movements, and smuggled maps of fortifications across enemy lines. As the Battle of Manila raged, Josefina Guerrero walked through gunfire to bandage wounds and close the eyes of the dead. Her valor earned her the Medal of Freedom, but what made her a good spy was also destroying her: leprosy, which so horrified the Japanese they refused to search her.

For fans of rags-to-riches stories, Be There When I Return is not just about overcoming epilepsy and finding success—it is also for those who are looking for a celebration of love in its purest form. When thirty-one-year-old Michael starts to act out of character, it gets the attention of his roommate and a woman he has started dating. After denying anything is wrong with him, Michael finally decides to visit a neurologist. His life takes an unexpected turn when he receives a life-altering diagnosis of epilepsy.

Thirty-four-year-old Rebecca Alexander is a psychotherapist, a spin instructor, a volunteer, and an athlete. She is also almost completely blind, with significantly deteriorated hearing. Not Fade Away is a deeply moving exploration of the obstacles we all face-physical, psychological, and philosophical. Rebecca's story is an exquisite reminder to live each day to its fullest.

Damaged is a story of survivor's guilt coupled with resentment tempered by love. It reveals the changing dynamics of a family faced with an injury no one could heal. Nancy Klein was in the first trimester of her second pregnancy when she made headlines as "Coma Mom." This intimate memoir, written by Klein's sister, reveals all that happened to her and her family after the news cycle moved on. The family: a mother who never gave up hope, even when hope was long gone, and a father who couldn't live without his wife's love.

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?

For many years, Jeffrey Demitrack searched for a meaningful and fulfilling relationship and, most of all, hoped that one day he would find a significant other who understood and unconditionally accepted his struggles with epilepsy. People have their insecurities, and relationships already are hard without throwing seizures into the mix, so his search has been a challenging one.

Backbone is a life-fulfilling message about managing chronic pain and living a life of purpose. For two decades, Karen Duffy, New York Times bestselling author, former MTV VJ, Revlon model, and actress, has managed to live an enriching life despite living in a state of constant pain. In this powerful, inspirational, funny, and important manual for surviving pain, Duffy draws on her experience as a patient advocate, trained recreational therapist, and hospice chaplain to illuminate gratifying methods people can use to cope with chronic pain.