About us : essays from the disability series of the New York times

Based on the pioneering New York Times series, About Us collects the personal essays and reflections that have transformed the national conversation around disability. Since its debut in 2016, the New York Times "Disability" series has brought insight to millions of readers into what it means, and how it feels, to live with a disability. The life stories, by authors with disabilities that range from blindness and deafness to chronic illness and depression, speak to the fullness of human experience. These compelling accounts of childhood, love, sex, conflict, resourcefulness, and joy, both topical and timeless, have influenced public opinion and promoted the social and civil rights of America's largest minority group. Echoing the refrain of the disability rights movement, "nothing about us without us," this collection, with a foreword by Andrew Solomon, presents more than sixty essays from the series, including "Becoming Disabled," "I Use a Wheelchair.... Becoming disabled / Rosemarie Garland-Thomson -- The Nazis' first victims were the disabled / Kenny Fries -- Mental illness is not a horror show / Andrew Solomon -- Disability and the right to choose / Jennifer Bartlett -- If you're in a wheelchair, segregation lives / Luticha Doucette -- My Medicaid, my life / Alice Wong -- You are special! Now stop being different / Jonathan Mooney -- Brain injury and the civil right we don't think about / Joseph J. Fins -- I don't want to be "inspiring" / John Altmann -- The deaf body in public space / Rachel Kolb -- My "orphan disease" has given me a new family / Rosemarie Garland-Thomson -- My life with Tourette's / Shane Fistell -- The everyday anxiety of the stutterer / Joseph P. Carter -- How to really see a blind person / Brad Snyder -- The importance of facial equality / Ariel Henle -- Finding refuge with the skin I'm in / Anne Kaier -- What it means to heal / Cyndi Jones -- I use a wheelchair. And yes, I'm your doctor / Cheri A. Blauwet -- Standing up for what I need / Carol R. Steinberg -- Where all bodies are exquisite / Riva Lehrer -- I lost my voice, but help others find theirs / Alex Hubbard -- The "madman" is back in the building / Zack McDermott -- Hildegard's visions, and mine / Jenny Giering -- Finding myself on the page / Ona Gritz -- Should I tell my students I have depression? / Abby L. Wilkerson -- We are the original lifehackers / Liz Jackson -- My supercharged, tricked out, Bluetooth wheelchair life force / Katie Savin -- New York has a great subway, if you're not in a wheelchair / Sasha Blair-Goldensohn -- A symbol for "nobody" that's really for everybody / Elizabeth Guffey -- Feeling my way into blindness / Edward Hoagland -- The dawn of the "tryborg" / Jillian Weise -- Flying while blind / Georgina Kleege -- My life with paralysis, it's a workout / Valerie Piro -- My $1,000 anxiety attack / Joanna Novak -- When life gave me lemons, I had a panic attack / Gila Lyons -- Am I too embarrassed to save my life? / Jane Eaton Hamilton -- My Paralympic blues / Emily Rapp Black -- The athlete in me won't stop / Todd Balf -- The hawk can soar / Randi Davenport -- A girlfriend of my own / Daniel Simpson -- Love, eventually / Ona Gritz -- How to play the online dating game, in a wheelchair / Emily Ladau -- Explaining our bodies, finding ourselves / Molly McCully Brown and Susannah Nevison -- Longing for the male gaze / Jennifer Bartlett -- Intimacy without touch / Elizabeth Jameson and Catherine Monahon -- The three-legged dog who carried me / Laurie Clements Lambeth -- Passing my disability on to my children / Sheila Black -- I have diabetes. Am I to blame? / Rivers Solomon -- 10 things my chronic illness taught my children / Paula M. Fitzgibbons -- The importance of finding family / Alaina Leary -- Trying to embrace a "cure" / Sheila Black -- In my mother's eyes, and mine / Catherine Kudlick -- A portrait of intimate violence / Anne Finger -- Mishearings / Oliver Sacks -- Space travel : a vision / Daniel Simpson -- Learning to sing again / Anne Kaier -- Sensations of sound : on deafness and music / Rachel Kolb -- Invitation to the dance / Alice Sheppard -- Stories about disability don't have to be sad / Melissa Shang -- In my chronic illness, I found a deeper meaning / Elliot Kukla -- A disabled life is a life worth living / Ben Mattlin Boldly claiming a space in which people with disabilities can be seen and heard as they arenot as others perceive them About Us captures the voices of a community that has for too long been stereotyped and misrepresented. Speaking not only to those with disabilities, but also to their families, coworkers and support networks, the authors in About Us offer intimate stories of how they navigate a world not built for them. Since its 2016 debut, the popular New York Times Disability column has transformed the national dialogue around disability. Now, echoing the refrain of the disability rights movement, Nothing about us without us, this landmark collection gathers the most powerful essays from the series that speak to the fullness of human experiencestories about first romance, childhood shame and isolation, segregation, professional ambition, child-bearing and parenting, aging and beyond. Reflecting on the fraught conversations around disabilityfrom the friend who says I dont think of you as disabled, to the father who scolds his child with attention differences, Stop it stop it stop it what is wrong with you?the stories here reveal the range of responses, and the variety of consequences, to being labeled as disabled by the broader public. Here, a writer recounts her path through medical school as a wheelchair userforging a unique bridge between patients with disabilities and their physicians. An acclaimed artist with spina bifida discusses her art practice as one that invites us to stretch ourselves toward a world where all bodies are exquisite. With these notes of triumph, these stories also offer honest portrayals of frustration over access to medical care, the burden of social stigma and the nearly constant need to self-advocate in the public realm. In its final sections, About Us turns to the questions of love, family and joy to show how it is possible to revel in life as a person with disabilities. Subverting the pervasive belief that disability results in relentless suffering and isolation, a quadriplegic writer reveals how she rediscovered intimacy without touch, and a mother with a chronic illness shares what her condition has taught her young children. With a foreword by Andrew Solomon and introductory comments by co-editors Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, About Us is a landmark publication of the disability movement for readers of all backgrounds, forms and abilities. Topics Include : Becoming Disabled Mental Illness is not a Horror Show Disability and the Right to Choose Brain Injury and the Civil Right We Dont Think The Deaf Body in Public Space The Everyday Anxiety of the Stutterer I Use a Wheelchair. And Yes, Im Your Doctor A Symbol for Nobody Thats Really for Everybody Flying While Blind My $1,000 Anxiety Attack A Girlfriend of My Own The Three-Legged Dog Who Carried Me Passing My Disability On to My Children I Have Diabetes. Am I to Blame? Learning to Sing Again A Disabled Life is a Life Worth Living "Based on the pioneering New York Times series, About Us collects the personal essays and reflections that have transformed the national conversation around disability. Boldly claiming a space in which people with disabilities can be seen and heard as they are-not as others perceive them-About Us captures the voices of a community that has for too long been stereotyped and misrepresented. Speaking not only to those with disabilities, but also to their families, coworkers and support networks, the authors in About Us offer intimate stories of how they navigate a world not built for them. Since its 2016 debut, the popular New York Times' "Disability" column has transformed the national dialogue around disability. Now, echoing the refrain of the disability rights movement, "Nothing about us without us," this landmark collection gathers the most powerful essays from the series that speak to the fullness of human experience-stories about first romance, childhood shame and isolation, segregation, professional ambition, child-bearing and parenting, aging and beyond. Reflecting on the fraught conversations around disability-from the friend who says "I don't think of you as disabled," to the father who scolds his child with attention differences, "Stop it stop it stop it what is wrong with you?"-the stories here reveal the range of responses, and the variety of consequences, to being labeled as "disabled" by the broader public. Here, a writer recounts her path through medical school as a wheelchair user-forging a unique bridge between patients with disabilities and their physicians. An acclaimed artist with spina bifida discusses her art practice as one that invites us to "stretch ourselves toward a world where all bodies are exquisite." With these notes of triumph, these stories also offer honest portrayals of frustration over access to medical care, the burden of social stigma and the nearly constant need to self-advocate in the public realm. In its final sections, About Us turns to the questions of love, family and joy to show how it is possible to revel in life as a person with disabilities. Subverting the pervasive belief that disability results in relentless suffering and isolation, a quadriplegic writer reveals how she rediscovered intimacy without touch, and a mother with a chronic illness shares what her condition has taught her young children. With a foreword by Andrew Solomon and introductory comments by co-editors Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, About Us is a landmark publication of the disability movement for readers of all backgrounds, forms and abilities"-- Provided by publisher Based on the historic New York Times series, About Us features intimate, firsthand accounts on what it means, and how it feels, to live with a disability. Boldly claiming a space where people with disabilities tell the stories of their own lives—not other’s stories about them—About Us captures the voices of a community that has for too long been stereotyped and misrepresented. Speaking not only to people with disabilities and their support networks, but to all of us, the authors in About Us offer intimate stories of how they navigate a world not built for them. Echoing the refrain of the disability rights movement, “nothing about us without us,” this collection, with a foreword by Andrew Solomon, is a landmark publication of the disability movement for readers of all backgrounds, communities, and abilities.