Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong

8 reviews

yourbookishbff's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

Disability Visibility is an anthology of essays edited by disability justice advocate Alice Wong. I don’t think I’ve ever read a collection of stories and perspectives so intersectional, raw and (as a non-disabled person) necessary. The structure of the collection is itself a stunning example of “disabled praxis,” as defined by A.H. Reaume in their essay “Why My Novel is Dedicated to My Disabled Friend Maddy,” as each essay simultaneously adds to and stands apart from preceding narratives, building a collage of experience that reflects the community built by and for those seeking disability justice.  

Loosely framed as essays, these range from first-person narratives to transcribed Ted talks to eulogies to artist manifestos to poetry. Several of these stories reflect the trauma and abuse experienced by those living at complex intersections of marginalization, and I was thankful that every essay includes detailed content and trigger warnings at the start. Through this unvarnished truth-telling, the intention of the anthology is made crystal clear - this is a collection rightfully built to amplify disabled voices for the benefit of disabled people and not for the gaze or comfort of non-disabled people.

I read this slowly, over more than a month, and I’m grateful I took my time with it. It challenged me to think about my own areas of deep-seated privilege and about the systems and spaces I have made inaccessible because of this privilege. It expanded my understanding of and respect for inclusivity and helped me to see the ways in which disability rights work has been consistently constrained by non-disabled people. These stories force us to ask, as s.e. smith does in their essay “The Beauty of Spaces Created for and by Disabled People:” “How can we cultivate spaces where everyone has that soaring sense of inclusion, where we can have difficult and meaningful conversations?”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

Minor: Cancer and Child abuse

In this collection of essays, trigger warnings for each individual essay are included at the start of each essay.

lizziaha's review against another edition

4.0

important work being done here to build a disability archive

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Murder, Ableism, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Racism

chronicacademia's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Stalking, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Homophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Abortion, Bullying, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

atomicbritt's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Body shaming, Racism, Abandonment, Classism, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Ableism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual assault

breanneisdeadinside's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

youcancallmefi's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Forced institutionalization

foreverinastory's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective

5.0

Everyone should read this. That is all.

CWs from each story as provided by the contributor:

Unspeakable Conversations: eugenics, infanticide, assisted suicide.

There's a Mathematical Equation that Proves I'm Ugly: bullying, suicidal ideation.

The Erasure of Indigenous People in Chronic Illness: settler colonialism, genocide, racism, sexism, ableism, erasure, sexual assault, violence, suicide, suicidal ideation.

The Isolation of Being Deaf in Prison: sexual assault, language deprivation, isolation, incarceration, trauma, audism.

Common Cyborg: hate, misogyny, harassment, rape threats, death threats, racism, suicide, sterilization, ableism, eugenics. 

We Can't Go Back: institutionalization, abuse.

Last but Not Least: body shaming, groping, sexual harassment.

The Antiabortion Bill You Aren't Hearing About: bodily autonomy, eugenics, ableism, trauma, sexual assault, medical trauma, objectification, carceral state, sterilization.

Incontinence is a Public Health Issue...: suicidal ideation, bullying, body shaming, infantilization. 

Failing/Burning: suffering, medication, spoilers for Hannah Gadsby's Nanette.

Lost Cause: abuse, racism, ableist language, child neglect, torture, poisoning, self-harm.

Disability Solidarity: state violence, anti-Blackness, racism, ableism, audism, police brutality, incarceration, murder, white supremacy. 

Time's Up for Me, Too: sexual assault, intimate partner violence, abuse, trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Acephobia/Arophobia, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

biacedbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Very informative about living with a disability. I like that it was intersectional and talked about being queer, trans, BIPOC, etc., and how that relates to disability.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Violence