I'd like to learn more about being handicapped. I realized this is a blind spot for me and I'd like to learn more so that I can be more compassionate toward people with physical disabilities.
Any book recs that can broaden my view on this would be much appreciated.
Not a book but I've been listening to the Death Panel podcast to broaden my horizons and help educate myself for my baby daughter's several present disabilities
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Don’t worry, he won’t get far on foot: funny memoir about an alcoholic cartoonist who becomes paralyzed and has to deal with being disabled
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Too late to die young: smart, spicy lawyer who happens to be in a wheelchair tells stories of being underestimated and shits on inspiration porn
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Mean little Deaf Queer: a good look at life as a disabled person and why it’s worth living
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Why I Burned My Book: essays about disability and ability
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Born on a Blue Day: the memoir of someone with autism and epilepsy, telling the interesting ways their brain works
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Intoxicated by my illness: Short essays about dealing with mortality and cancer
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A leg to stand on: Oliver Sacks learns firsthand what it’s like to feel betrayed by your own body
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Hot Cripple: kind of a gossipy memoir by a model who got hit by a car. A little lighter.
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Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates: ridiculous tongue in cheek fiction. The main character isn’t disabled per se, but he does spend most of the book in a wheelchair.
Oh also
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What Doesn’t Kill You: a look at what it’s like to be diagnosed with a chronic illness
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The State of Me: the story of a woman diagnosed with a degenerative neurologic condition
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These books really helped me begin to confront my ableism and broaden my understanding:
Demystifying Disability - Emily Ladau
Sitting Pretty - Rebekah Taussig
I don't have a book rec but I do know that you'll find better results using the term "disability".
I don't have a rec, but honestly this site can have some issues with ablism (Why don't we have a comm for physical disability?) So as someone with a neurolological disability, I appreciate your self-crit and willingness to learn.
