Disability Memoir

From the disability rights advocate and creator of the #DisabledAndCute viral campaign, a thoughtful, inspiring, and charming collection of essays exploring what it means to be black and disabled in a mostly able-bodied white America.

At 30 years old Bryan Bishop’s life was right on track: as the sidekick on The Adam Carolla Show, his career was taking off and, newly engaged, his personal life was soaring to new heights. Then he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Suddenly Bryan’s promising future was looking at a troubling schedule of radiation and chemotherapy. But having found refuge in comedy, "Bald Bryan" recounts his alternately heartbreaking and hysterical experience of cancer treatment and recovery.

When John Tovey lost his sight at the age of 42, he thought his life was over. He was wrong, it was just beginning. John had followed a bad path drifting in and out of trouble. He was sent to improvement schools, a young offenders institute and eventually a prison. John was on self-destruct and thought nothing or no one could help him. Then he became the victim of a vicious attack by a notorious train ‘steaming’ gang. John knew he had to take the witness stand.

Waking one morning to find he has little to no motor control, Jamieson only wants the world to return to how it had been before. After a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, he thinks his life is over. What he doesn’t know is that it’s only just begun. Trying to navigate through the world in a body he no longer understands, Jamieson must travel through the dark forest of depression while waging a constant battle against himself. Over time, he learns what he’s truly capable of and what it actually means to be courageous.

Raising Will is a heartfelt, humbling memoir written by a Texan-turned-Minnesotan mother and child psychologist. Her heart breaks for Will when he is repeatedly banned from Fun Friday in first grade shortly after he is diagnosed with ADHD. The family zigzags through an obstacle course of therapy, medication side effects, tutoring, and sleepless nights, while shining a light on Will's inherent strength - blues guitar. Listeners will surely recognize themselves in this story and find solace, laughter, and hope as they celebrate the surprising blessings ADHD can bring.

From the time she was a toddler, Lou Ann Walker acted as the ears and voice for her parents, who had lost their hearing at a young age. As soon as she was old enough to speak, her childhood ended, and she immediately assumed the responsibility of interpreter - translating doctors’ appointments and managing her parents’ business transactions. Their family life was warm and loving, but outside the home, they faced a world that misunderstood and often rejected them.

From the Periphery consists of more than 30 first-person narratives of everyday people who describe what it's like to be treated differently by society because of their disabilities. The stories are raw and painful, but also surprisingly funny and deeply inspiring. The oral histories describe anger, independence, bigotry, solidarity, and love - in the family, at school, and at the workplace. From the Periphery will become a classic collection that increases understanding of the lived experiences of people with disabilities.

Living in the Belgian Congo with her husband in the 1960s, Fran’s mother became pregnant with a daughter. However, right after she gave birth in the hospital, she felt strange. Unbeknownst to anyone, another daughter was on the way, but before anybody responded, an hour had passed. Because of the delay, Fran was born with cerebral palsy. Growing up with her siblings in Africa, Fran always felt different. When everyone else was playing and having fun, she would watch and wish she could join in.

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....

A powerful journey from star athlete to sudden paralysis to creative awakening, award-winning science-fiction writer Nnedi Okorafor shows that what we think are our limitations have the potential to become our greatest strengths.

This is a very real and bloody look at the journey I made from 19 to 29. I will walk you through the icy halls of drug addiction and dealing, college in Santa Barbara (specifically Isla Vista), depression, suicide, and overdoses. The second part of the book I could only write just recently, as I was, by the Grace of God, able to live the life I knew I always should. Please come with me through the very real and honest look at what it was like to be a young man in the 2010s and how through a million close calls, I finally found life.

This book chronicles the journey of Eritrean-born Joseph Woldu. As a child refugee, he found himself having to adapt to changes of place, language, and customs; then as a man forced to relearn much of the same after involvement in a disastrous accident two days before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. What makes Joseph's story so incredible is not that he survived change and tragedy, but how he continually found the strength to improve himself and his circumstances. His story reflects the importance good relationships play in our lives.

Unblinded is the true story of New Yorker Kevin Coughlin, who became blind at age 36 due to a rare genetic disorder known as Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. Twenty years later, without medical intervention, Kevin's sight miraculously started to return. He is the only known person in the world who has experienced a spontaneous, non-medically assisted regeneration of the optic nerve. Unblinded follows Kevin's descent into darkness and his unexplained reemergence to sight.

In 2009 Cristina Nehring's brilliant first book, A Vindication of Love, was featured on the cover of the New York Times Book Review. An important new voice had appeared in American letters. Just as suddenly, Nehring seemed to disappear—only to reemerge like a bolt from the blue.

Linda Dezenski pulls no punches in this raw and revealing memoir. Born with Cerebral Palsy, Linda takes us on a rollercoaster ride through the ups and downs of life with a body that doesn't always cooperate and a society that often misunderstands. But Getting to the Real Me isn't just about struggles—it's a story of triumph. With humor and heart, Linda shares her lightbulb moment: disability doesn't define her, it's just part of the package. Join Linda as she learns to embrace her whole self and discovers her mission to help others do the same.

Perhaps, you are one of three girls, or one of five boys that was sexually abused by the time you were 18 years old. Unfortunately, I fell into that nasty category. In preparing to write my first memoir, Identifying and Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse, I came upon a list of approximately 99 different after-effects that come as a result of sexual abuse. Finally, I held in my hands, a list of words that totally and completely described myself! I pray that this audiobook will give you the information that you need for a total and complete healing in your life!

Our Life Our Way: A Memoir of Active Faith, Profound Love and Courageous Disability Rights explores an extraordinary love story grown out of engagement with both disability rights advocacy and christian faith communities. This memoir contains thoughtful, often entertaining, and sometimes heart-wrenching anecdotes of a couple’s journey to create their profound relationship and Christian marriage, in a world not yet ready for them.

DEMENTIA and OUR LOVE, Caregiving as spiritual practice, is the story of Gary and Heather's love that sustained them through an unusual and courageous life across continents, including tending Gary and his onset of dementia at 73 years. The story helped them remember their love and use this energy to move through the hard times. We will always remember us this way, a song by Lady Gaga, was pivotal in keeping Heathers focus.

What would you have left if you awoke and were told you would be paralyzed from the eyes down for the rest of your life? After an almost fatal car crash and a botched surgery to repair nerve damage, that was Clay Byars' reality at 18 years old. Determination became the only constant in his life from that point on, and miraculously he quickly began to defy the odds. Clay discovered a life far different from that of his identical twin brother, Will.

Kevin’s life was forever changed on a random Wednesday when he was just 20 years old. An aspiring musician at the time, he was planning to attend music school and pursue his dream of becoming a composer. A stroke dismantled every plan and everything in his life. In Taken By Surprise, Kevin chronicles his battles with the stroke. After a risky brain surgery, he was in a coma for nearly a month and spent six weeks in an acute rehab facility to learn how to walk and talk all over again.