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threegoodrats's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this up because I feel like I don't hear voices of people with disabilities in most of what I read. It was pretty good, but of course it's an anthology so I liked some of the pieces more than others. Some of them were very much about disability justice and contained a lot of theory and terminology, and I much preferred the more personal essays where the author's voice and experiences came through. I always prefer a story more than general thoughts.
I liked the first essay a lot, which was by Harriet McBryde Johnson and recounted her experience debating Peter Singer at Princeton. She talked about the issues (infanticide, euthanasia) as well as her experience getting to know Singer and the practicalities of the trip. Another essay that struck me was by Jeremy Woody and recounted his experience being deaf in prison, and how that is not considered cruel and unusual punishment is unfathomable to me after reading it. Mari Ramsawakh writes about incontinence as a public health issue and how we do not, as a society, know how to talk about it. I appreciate her candor writing about something so private that she has been shamed for so much of her life. Britney Wilson writes about New York's public transit service for the elderly and people with disabilities and it is horrifying. As someone familiar with the inconvenience of public transit, I was shocked that it is about a million times more inconvenient for people with disabilities, and that's the part of transit that is supposed to be specifically for them. Those were the ones that were most memorable to me, but many others were also quite good.
I was impressed at the breadth of this anthology, how diverse the voices - there was lots of representation of LGTBQ people and POC. At times it made me angry at how cruel the world and its people can be, and I definitely learned a lot. There's a great Further Reading section at the end with nonfiction, fiction, anthologies, poetry, websites, podcasts, and more.
I liked the first essay a lot, which was by Harriet McBryde Johnson and recounted her experience debating Peter Singer at Princeton. She talked about the issues (infanticide, euthanasia) as well as her experience getting to know Singer and the practicalities of the trip. Another essay that struck me was by Jeremy Woody and recounted his experience being deaf in prison, and how that is not considered cruel and unusual punishment is unfathomable to me after reading it. Mari Ramsawakh writes about incontinence as a public health issue and how we do not, as a society, know how to talk about it. I appreciate her candor writing about something so private that she has been shamed for so much of her life. Britney Wilson writes about New York's public transit service for the elderly and people with disabilities and it is horrifying. As someone familiar with the inconvenience of public transit, I was shocked that it is about a million times more inconvenient for people with disabilities, and that's the part of transit that is supposed to be specifically for them. Those were the ones that were most memorable to me, but many others were also quite good.
I was impressed at the breadth of this anthology, how diverse the voices - there was lots of representation of LGTBQ people and POC. At times it made me angry at how cruel the world and its people can be, and I definitely learned a lot. There's a great Further Reading section at the end with nonfiction, fiction, anthologies, poetry, websites, podcasts, and more.
ahexclamation's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
ellie_wynnn's review against another edition
4.0
great intro for me to disability rights. as with most anthologies, some where fantastic, some were meh
thereadingsnail99's review against another edition
5.0
An exquisite collection of eye-opening must-read personal accounts.
rmsugarcandy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0