Disabled Life

Who Wants Normal? lifts the lid off a subject that is too often shrouded in awkwardness and silence. It offers support, inspiration and a sense of solidarity to the many, many women with disabilities and long-term health issues – as well as opening the eyes of anyone wanting to better understand the many facets of living with a disability.

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 looks at life at the intersection; the struggles, the joys, and the unseen realities of being a disabled woman.

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. A disciple of Enlightenment thinkers, he was a devotee of reason, believed in the reliability of science, and lived by the dictum that an unexamined life is not worth living. That is, until his son August was born.

I never planned to write about my life with cerebral palsy (CP), but after years of absurd, frustrating, and hilarious experiences, I had to share them. This book is part memoir, part guide to navigating an able-bodied world when your body has its own agenda. From my mom almost being mistaken for a prostitute to a first date disaster in a movie theater, my life is full of bizarre encounters. Doctors talk over me, cops have been afraid of me, and strangers treat me like a sideshow.

At age 24 I decided to tell my story. Writing this autobiography gave me the opportunity to pay tribute to my family members who are passionate about life and have instilled this passion in me. My parents' extraordinary support, encouragment, and pure love were my foundation as I navigated life, overcame obstacles, and achieved successes as a young woman with cerebral palsy.

Born with a hole in his heart that required invasive surgery when he was only three months old, Quinn Bradlee suffered from a battery of illnesses - seizures, migraines, fevers - from an early age. But it wasn't until he was 14 that Bradlee was correctly diagnosed with Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome (VCFS), a widespread, little-understood disorder that is expressed through a wide range of physical ailments and learning disabilities.

Growing up and learning the facts of life, children of PTSD parents can struggle for a lifetime, having had their developmental years marred by confusion and grief. Lack of open communication from a child's point of view may lead to costly therapy and the future expenses of children damaged by PTSD, as in broken homes, toxic relationships, and poor life choices.