Winter in Minnesota (where I live and work remotely) is often a great time to hunker down at home with a good read. While I still have evenings where my mind needs to wind down with Netflix, this year I’ve got a bookshelf of authors that has renewed my motivation to read.
As Quillo’s content lead, I’m always looking for stories that offer a variety of experiences or push me to learn about other’s perspectives.
Women with Disabilities Have Something To Tell You
So who am I excited to read this year? The current list celebrates women with disabilities who have published books in the last year or two:
- Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist (Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner)
- As a leader in the Disability Rights Movement for decades, Judy Heumann has impacted a lot of people and policies. After watching Crip Camp on Netflix last year, I’m eager to dig in.
- Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally (Emily Ladau)
- This one feels like it will be informative and practical, as it is a handbook approach on “how to be an ally to the disability community,” as explained on the book jacket. I’m particularly excited about this one due to its gorgeous, colorful, and inclusive cover!
- Sitting Pretty: The View from my Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body (Rebekah Taussig)
- I wasn’t familiar with her or her work before I came across this book, but one of the opening lines of the Preface caught my attention: “Because this right here, you and me, looking at these stories together? This is one of the most beautiful parts of being a human – the drive to connect and understand, heal and blossom.”
- Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century (Edited by Alice Wong)
- Though I technically read this one last year, I have to include this compilation of essays brought together by Alice Wong. Some of the essays left me laughing and hopeful, while others had me crying with anger. In every case, I was always learning.
Thank you to these authors and many others who share stories and meaningful words. What are your recommendations for this year? Who have you learned from or laughed with? Happy reading!