Kendra Winchester is a Contributing Editor for Book Riot where she writes about audiobooks and disability literature. She is also the Founder of Read Appalachia, which celebrates Appalachian literature and writing. Previously, Kendra co-founded and served as Executive Director for Reading Women, a podcast that gained an international following over its six-season run. In her off hours, you can find her writing on her Substack, Winchester Ave, and posting photos of her Corgis on Instagram and Twitter @kdwinchester.
Wheelchair users come in all shapes and sizes with a diverse range of experiences. Some people use manual wheelchairs to play wheelchair-based sports. Others use power wheelchairs of different varieties to get around. Some have higher access needs than others. No matter their differences, each person has a story worth being told.
As just a sampling of these disabled folks’ vibrant lives, here are a handful of memoirs from wheelchair users sharing their lives with readers.
Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner
In her memoir, disability rights activist and icon Judith Heumann shares her experience growing up with polio. As a young teacher, she was discriminated against and people refused to hire her just because she used a wheelchair. This incident spurred Heumann to push back and fight for her rights, starting her life-long career in disability activism.
All access members, read on for three more memoirs from wheelchair users, plus additional book lists and ways to be a year-long disability ally.
Kendra Winchester is a Contributing Editor for Book Riot where she writes about audiobooks and disability literature. She is also the Founder of Read Appalachia, which celebrates Appalachian literature and writing. Previously, Kendra co-founded and served as Executive Director for Reading Women, a podcast that gained an international following over its six-season run. In her off hours, you can find her writing on her Substack, Winchester Ave, and posting photos of her Corgis on Instagram and Twitter @kdwinchester.
Sipping Dom Pérignon Through a Straw: Reimagining Success as a Disabled Achiever by Eddie Ndopu
When Eddie Ndopu learns that he’s just received a full ride to Oxford, he is elated. Finally, all of his work advocating for disabled people around the world has paid off. But when he contacts the university about providing accommodations for his disability, they refuse to cover the cost of his caregiver. Despite Oxford being one of the richest and oldest universities in the world, they claimed over and over again that they could not afford his care. Ndopu nevertheless pushes through, fighting not just for himself, but for all disabled people who asked for equitable accommodations.
Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig
Disability advocate Rebekah Taussig has long used her instagram account @sitting_pretty to break down and explain the ableist assumptions common in our society. Now in her memoir, which is composed as a series of essays, Taussig writes about what it was like growing up as a paralyzed wheelchair user. In addition to sharing about her own life, she discusses media portrayals of disabled people and the problem with society’s love of “inspiration porn.”
Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life by Alice Wong
Alice Wong, the editor of Disability Visibility and Disability Intimacy—two incredible disability anthologies—writes about her own life in her memoir Year of the Tiger. Wong has spent her life as a disability activist and is now a disability cultural icon. Her memoir is structured like a scrapbook, including photos, transcripts, drawings, and so much more. Her multimedia approach draws readers into the memoir, creating a full picture of her life throughout the years. It’s so creative and one-of-a-kind.
Continue expanding your reading on disability across categories and genres with these new queer books for disability pride month and these excellent disability romances. Championing disabled voices doesn’t stop in July either. Here’s how able-bodied folks can be better disability allies all year long.
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