A review by linday_vikki
Nothing Without Us by J. Ivanel Johnson, Cait Gordon, Myriad Augustine, Elliott Dunstan, Joanna Marsh, Dorothy Ellen Palmer, Nathan Caro Frechette, Madonna Skaff, Emily Gillespie, Tom Johnson, Diane Koerner, Laurie Stewart, Carolyn Charron, Jamieson Wolf, Tonya Liburd, Shannon Barnsley, Talia C. Johnson, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Raymond Luczak, Nicole Zelniker, George Zancola, Tasha Fierce, Derek Newman-Stille, Maverick Smith

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

 

Nothing Without Us, is a short story anthology edited by Cait Gordon and Talia C. Johnson. The anthology is a collection of stories about and by members of the disabled community. The short stories in the collection are both realist and speculative fiction, ranging in genres. The stories in the book give agency to characters who would otherwise not be considered to be ‘traditional’ protagonists.   The most enjoyable part of the anthology is that as the stories written by members of the disabled community about characters who are also in the disabled community their stories are more than the standard ‘inspiration porn’ styled content that is very prevalent in narratives surrounding disabled characters.  The disability itself takes a background role to the driving narratives of the stories.  This gives representation to the community that doesn’t fit into the common or ‘appropriate’ roles assigned to the disabled community within literature.  Nothing Without Us was published by the group Renaissance: Diverse Canadian Voices. A publishing group that works to publish stories that do not target a particular genre, niche or demographic, particularly giving space for voices from marginalized groups. Nothing Without Us is a testament to this mission statement. The editors encouraged the writers of the short story to not target an able bodied audience and write for audiences of various positions in the intersectionality of oppression. Editor Cait Gordon has stated “ The motto of this anthology is: ‘We are the heroes, not the sidekicks’" a point that is easily backed up as seen in the large diversity of characters, and points of view.  True to the value of the publishing group, Nothing Without Us  is available across many different platforms and accessible forms such as eBooks (kindle), hard copy and audio book. 

While all stories in the collection are all enjoyable, I found that some stood out more than others. Search and Seizure, is a short story by Shannon Barnsley which features a main protagonist who passes away after a missed diagnosis of a type of epileptic seizure disorder. In many stories that are written by able bodies writers the narrative of the story would change as the diverse character passes.  Following and alluding  to the idea of “better dead than disabled” prevalent in social culture and literature. Instead of focusing the narrative from a perspective of family members or health care professionals, Search and Seizure is told from the perspective of the trapped spirit/ghost of Cassie and her haunting of the doctor who dismissed her.  This ghost story paints an entertaining and unflattering light on a very real issue of medical dismissal that is experienced in the disabled community. This continuation of the point of view of the narrative from the perspective of the main protagonist Cassie challenges the social discourse of “better dead than disabled”.  It also connects back to Gordons emphasis of “We are the heroes, not the sidekicks”. This story was a captivating read, and amazing ghost story, as well as giving readers an up-close perspective on an issue in access to  healthcare that is very prominent in our society. That being a dismissal of individuals seeking medical assistance and treatment, dismissal of experience of symptoms and pain. Search and Seizure demonstrates a not often, but often experienced issue in the access to the healthcare institution. This shows a large issue in the lived experience of the disabled community yet, it also does not implore characteristics of disability inspiration porn, as seen in many other stories written by able bodies authors.

Search and Seizure is only one story within anthropology that addresses and challenges the hegemonic discourse surrounding narratives, and wider society through a compelling story.  Nothing Without Us holds many stories that give representation to individuals who identify characters that are not usually deemed as central, important or a protagonist, while seamlessly addressing large social issues stemming from an ableist society.  The collection meets its goal making room for characters and stories that would otherwise not exist within the ablist hegemonic discourse present in literature and other content. Though the book is made of various stories from various authors, two key factors remain the same across the collection. Firstly at no point is a disability solely used as a tool to progress the narrative. Each disabled character is created with full and complex emotion, background. They are not a source used for comedic relief, but of the joke and are completely capable of higher thought.  Nothing Without Us  I believe is successful in their mission to create stories with main characters that represent the disabled community, whose sole narrative mission has nothing to do with inspiring able bodied readers or to be cured.