Disability Memoir

By the time native Sicilian Mariagrazia Buttitta turned 26, she’d planned out the perfect life. After finishing her residency in Buongiorno Medical School, she’d be primed for a job at the prestigious Roma Hospital, the first step toward becoming an Italian Dr. Oz. Instead, she wakes up to discover a medical diagnosis that leaves her almost completely blind. Her family, frustrated and desperate, seeks medical aid in the US, but it comes with a steep price.

I am a woman living with cerebral palsy (CP) since birth. When I was prepping for graduation and finishing my final honors essay for school, I had a realization that based on experience, most of the world does not think or experience life the way I do. Despite my CP, the world still didn't seem to process experiences, feelings, or ideas the same way I've learned to be my normal way of functioning.

Life moves fast. Too fast for some people. This is the true story of what it's like to live in a world where you can't keep up. Bobby was ten months old when my mom and dad rescued him from birth parents who were slowly killing him. He was adopted into our family after a lengthy custody battle. Instead of that settling him, it set off a lifelong struggle to find a place to belong, a place to call home. Like an old-fashioned merry-go-round, the world moved at a speed that was just too fast for Bobby. He couldn't keep up, which prevented him from keeping a job.

Three months into her pregnancy with her first child, Hilary Yancey received a phone call that changed everything. As she learned the diagnosis - cleft lip and palate, a missing right eye, possible breathing complications - Hilary began to pray in earnest. Even in the midst of these findings, she prayed that God would heal her son. God could do a miracle unlike anything she had seen. Only when Hilary held her baby, Jack, in her arms for the first time did she realize God had given her something drastically different than what she had demanded.

In this inspirational memoir, Derrick Coleman, Jr., the Seattle Seahawks fullback who won the 2014 Super Bowl with the Seahawks in his second year in the NFL, relates his inspirational story of hard work and determination in his own words. Showcasing his unlikely and challenging journey to become the first deaf athlete to play offense in the NFL, he talks about overcoming internal and external obstacles in the course of reaching your true potential.

Freya Lewis was just three metres away from the terrorist who detonated the bomb at the Manchester arena on the night of 22nd May 2017. Her best friend Nell was tragically killed, but Freya - thrown forwards by the blast - somehow survived. She suffered 29 separate injuries, was in a coma for five days and wheelchair-bound for three months. Yet just 12 months later, she was on her feet, running the Junior Great Manchester Run and raising £60,000 for the hospital that saved her.

On July 4th, 2013, Connor Sparrowhawk, also known as Laughing Boy or LB, was found dead in a specialist NHS unit. Connor, who had autism and epilepsy, had a seizure while in the bath, and no member of staff was on hand to stop him from drowning. An entirely preventable death. Sara Ryan presents a frank, sometimes funny and touching account of her son's early life and preventable death and the unfolding #JusticeforLB campaign.

In Inseparable, much more than a sports memoir, Shaquem and Shaquill Griffin share the previously untold details of the powerful and inspiring story behind the modern NFL’s first one-handed player and his twin brother’s unrelenting devotion, sacrifice, and love. It’s the story of Shaquem’s understanding of God’s purpose for his life - to inspire others to stop being afraid and to stop making excuses - and his family’s unwavering support in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

In a Lifetime Fight: Living with Cerebral Palsy author Amanda Forry/Fino invites listeners to follow her journey towards healing and hope. After suffering a disabling accident and enduring a lifetime of abuse, Amanda is forced to rely on her own strength and courage to confront the traumas of her past and to find a path forward.

"La situazione di Cesare è molto grave. È giusto che te lo dica. Fate tutto quello che potete con lui, non rimandate." La storia di Valentina, Federico, Ale, Terry e Cece si è interrotta qui, tra le mura di un ospedale e la paura di non avere più tempo. Loro, però, si erano Fatti una promessa: anche nei momenti più bui, tra le ombre, avrebbero cercato la felicità. Così, tra feste di compleanno e gite in canoa, la loro storia continua, e con l’estate ormai alle porte il loro viaggio diventa molto di più.

Penny Fisher is on vacation with her family when she becomes ill and disoriented. An urgent care facility reads her temperature at 104.5 and sends her by stretcher to the emergency room. There, doctors find nothing wrong, and they send her home. Twenty-four hours later, Penny is on life support and her husband is told to say his goodbyes.

Arriving in the UK from Jamaica at the tender age of 14, Keisha shares her empowering lived experiences growing up with undiagnosed Dyslexia and Dyspraxia, while facing several intersectional challenges that include culture, race, and the UK education system.

When I was six years old, I started wearing glasses. My view of my low vision quickly changed when I was twenty years old and found out that my brother had suddenly gone blind. He was told that he was suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a disorder that slowly destroys the pigment cells in the eyes. So far, there are no known cures. At the tender age of twenty-one, I was also diagnosed with RP. Since then, I have been slowly going blind, not knowing when my world would finally fade away forever. Battling against such a crippling disease led me through a labyrinth of challenges.

What would you do if it happened to you? If you awoke one day when you were twelve years old to be informed that your life was suddenly over? Well . . . Here is what I did. If you became the wealthiest person you would ever know just three and a half years later? What would that be like? Well, this is what it was like when it happened to me.

At the age of thirty-one, Dave Kelly lost his eyesight to a rare disease called retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Up until then, he had lived a life like any other young man, albeit one blessed to be growing up in Liverpool during the heyday of The Beatles and Liverpool FCs win against Leeds in the 1965 FA Cup. But then, one day everything changed. Dave was faced with a choice. He could either let blindness defeat him or he could face it head-on and live as fulfilling a life as he possibly could.

From our family to yours, here are humorous stories from our crazy past, mixed with ideas for handling some of the issues facing a family raising kids with autism. Inside you will find ideas for stimming aids, dietary help, and even links to companies who hire adults with autism. Humor, hope, and help for families like yours traveling Through the Wormhole.

Everything happens for a reason; I truly believe writing these words was one of the primary purposes of my life. Father God gave me this disability - I’m just trying to make the most out of it. This is not your typical autobiography or memoir. I’m sharing my life experiences as more of a commentary on humanity as a whole. I do my best to sprinkle bits of comedy throughout the composition so it feels more like a conversation between friends than me just talking at you.

You are more than your limits. Choosing to see herself as more than a person with a disability and wheelchair user, Lolo chooses to live a bold and courageous life now because representation matters. She created this intersectional guide to provide tools for people with disabilities to thrive in personal growth, independence, and community building. Add this guide to your list of inclusion books!

This book is about one mom's journey in raising a child with special needs. Her daughter Lydia has Down syndrome. This is the story of their life together. Kerry Lynn Patton shares the blessings, trials, and what their family has learned by having Lydia in their lives. This is not meant to be a “How To” book for raising a child with special needs, but rather a book to encourage moms, dads, family, and friends. This delightful book is written in whimsical and heartfelt “snippets" for the listener to enjoy a little at a time or easily in one sitting.

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.