Disability Visibility

paperback, 336 pages

Published June 30, 2020 by Vintage.

ISBN:: 9781984899422
OCLC Number:: 1147930017

(1 review)

A groundbreaking collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience: Disability Visibility brings together the voices of activists, authors, lawyers, politicians, artists, and everyday people whose daily lives are, in the words of playwright Neil Marcus, “an art…an ingenious way to live.” A Vintage Books Original.

According to the last census, one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some are visible, some are hidden—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together an urgent, galvanizing collection of personal essays by contemporary disabled writers. There is Harriet McBryde Johnson’s “Unspeakable Conversations,” which describes her famous debate with Princeton philosopher Peter Singer over her own personhood. There is columnist s. e. smith’s celebratory review of a work of theater by disabled performers. …

A groundbreaking collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience: Disability Visibility brings together the voices of activists, authors, lawyers, politicians, artists, and everyday people whose daily lives are, in the words of playwright Neil Marcus, “an art…an ingenious way to live.” A Vintage Books Original.

According to the last census, one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some are visible, some are hidden—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together an urgent, galvanizing collection of personal essays by contemporary disabled writers. There is Harriet McBryde Johnson’s “Unspeakable Conversations,” which describes her famous debate with Princeton philosopher Peter Singer over her own personhood. There is columnist s. e. smith’s celebratory review of a work of theater by disabled performers. There are original pieces by up-and-coming authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma. There are blog posts, manifestos, eulogies, and testimonies to Congress. Taken together, this anthology gives a glimpse of the vast richness and complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own assumptions and understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and past with hope and love.

5 editions

pixouls@bookwyrm.social reviewed Disability Visibility by Alice Wong

a medicine of sorts

4 stars

I listened to this book as an audio book. I have been interested in Alice Wong's works for a long time, though you don't hear too much from them personally in the book. For some stories, I wasn't sure why I was listening. Some authors I was familiar with and were going over topics or summaries of their work I'd already read. It didn't help that the narrator made it very hard to tell stories apart and some things were just blending together. As Pretense mentioned in their review: I did not find the different sections meaningful. At other points, the things that I was listening felt very pertinent to where I'm sitting in my life, really struck me. I think different parts of this book can be very meaningful for different people to find healing and feel perceived by someone who shares their experiences. The book has caused me …

I listened to this book as an audio book. I have been interested in Alice Wong's works for a long time, though you don't hear too much from them personally in the book. For some stories, I wasn't sure why I was listening. Some authors I was familiar with and were going over topics or summaries of their work I'd already read. It didn't help that the narrator made it very hard to tell stories apart and some things were just blending together. As Pretense mentioned in their review: I did not find the different sections meaningful. At other points, the things that I was listening felt very pertinent to where I'm sitting in my life, really struck me. I think different parts of this book can be very meaningful for different people to find healing and feel perceived by someone who shares their experiences. The book has caused me to reflect more deeply in ways I wasn't sure where to start/somewhat avoiding, especially on how I talk about and treat my own disabilities, as well as share that and look for care in my communities.