Week 9: Pizzelles & "Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From The 21st Century"

WHY THIS BOOK?

These cookies bring back so many memories of my nona and mom making them for hours and always having them handy in big ice cream buckets. They are so delicious.

This book for me was like being invited into 37 homes of those with different disabilities. I was invited to see what a day in the life was like. The book is broken down into 4 sections: Being, Becoming, Doing and Connecting.

Alice Wong edited the stories and is a disabled activist, media maker and research consultant based in San Francisco. She is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility project which you can find out more information here: Disability Visibility Project – "Creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture"

Let me share a few stories:

In the Being section June Eric-Udorie talks about waiting to be healed and how her grandmother would say if you really believe, if you really pray and cry out, then God will heal you. June was born with idiopathic nystagmus which is a complex condition where your eyes move involuntarily in a small, repeated back-and forth motion. She shares her story of growing up and gaining independence and how she no longer is focused on the church to save her and how she goes to church happy and whole.

There were so many stories that helped me to increase my understanding around disability and I really appreciated how real these stories were and how people with disabilities are not struggling but also living with joy. This is another book recommendation especially because there are not many books around disability.