Disability Pride Month!

Disability activist Alice Wong has gathered a collection of contemporary, disabled writers with the aim to explore the experiences of disabled people outside of the lens of ableism. The collection includes everything from blog posts to manifestos, Congressional testimony to original essays that highlight the disabled experience in all its glory. Wong also includes more reading options in the form of nonfiction, podcasts, and poetry.

Book club bonus: There have been disabled people who talk about how people may doubt the validity of their disability because it’s not as easily seen. Discuss what this collection of essays says about that and compare to what people have written about having more visible disabilities.

“True biz” is a phrase in American Sign Language (ASL) that means “really; seriously; real-talk.” Its use as the title of Nović’s book is to show how ASL is not simply the equivalent of English for Deaf people, but its own language with its own phrases and idioms. Here, we follow the lives of Charlie, Austin, and February, who are all linked through River Valley School for the Deaf. Charlie is a transfer student who will be meeting other Deaf people for the first time; Austin does well at the school, but has new things to figure out when his sister is born hearing; and February is the headmistress who is trying to keep both the school and her marriage together.

Book club bonus: What surprised you about the residential Deaf school?

O’Connell actually stars in Queer As Folk and Special, and has a few things in common with the main character of Just by Looking At Him, Elliott, who is a TV writer, gay, and has cerebral palsy. Elliott is super-duper going through it, though. Behind his seemingly Instagram perfect life, he’s struggling with alcohol addiction, being unfaithful to his boyfriend, and issues with internalized ableism. There are quite a few laughs to be had as he tries to get his ish together.

Book club bonus: Discuss how the intersection of queerness and disability manifests in Elliott’s life.

Wang’s collection of autobiographical essays will take you on a journey. First, she details what it took to get diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and how those in the medical field even have disagreements concerning procedures surrounding diagnosing. She also shows how schizophrenia has shown up in her life, how she’s used her sense of style to present as high-functioning, and how illnesses like PTSD can compound symptoms. Her essays strike a nice balance of analytical with personal, no doubt in part due to her time as a researcher at Stanford. Make sure to also pick up [Don’t] Call Me Crazy, edited by our own Kelly Jensen, which Wang has contributed to.

Book club bonus: Discuss how medical professionals disagree on mental illness. What implications does this have for patients?