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rogoreads's review
5.0
Really compelling memoir, with a strong voice, that goes outside the bounds of a typical memoir. I felt seen, as someone with a mostly invisible disability related to blindness, and I also learned a lot about ableism and how it's different for congenital vs. acquired disabilities. The small quibbles I have are about the scattered ending (I don't think a memoir was the best framing for this book, exactly) and the assumptions peppered throughout that the audience is non-disabled. It still really made me think about how I navigate the world and when I do and don't claim the disabled label, as well as how disability might show up in my fiction. Everyone should read it.
alwaysshure's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and Sexual assault
bookishmillennial's review
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
“It is a truth universally unacknowledged that you could become disabled at any point in your life. No matter how perfectly your limbs, eyes, ears, and whatever else works, it could all change in an instant.”
I am not someone who believes that you must find a way to connect to/have something directly impact you to care, so I do think the above quotation is important for people to get through their dense heads, but I also think we should build a more accessible world just because it's the right thing to do. Not everything has to be about *us* in order to make choices that promote accessibility and disability justice and equity.
Anyway, this was a fantastic, informative read which provided such a valuable disabled perspective - I listened to the audiobook on Everand, and if that's accessible to you, I really enjoyed that format. Sjunneson has chapters on dating, representation in media, navigating physical spaces like Comic Con, fandom, eugenics, inspiration porn, gender expressions and their impact on how a disabled person is treated, healthcare, police brutality, sexual/emotional/physical abuse, and much more. She notes both her lived experience, as well as societal attitudes and norms, and I really am so grateful that Sjunneson so graciously shared all of this with us.
I highly recommend ALL non-disabled folks to read this, and if you are a disabled person, I think there is value and a need to commiserate and lament with someone who just gets it. I think this should be required reading for anyone who is not as familiar with disability justice or the intersection of disability yet. I also just think everyone should read this!
Other quotations that stood out to me (I may just buy a physical or digital copy so I can go back and highlight more!):
“I was enough before ableism came for me. My dearest wish is that society will learn to accept disabled bodies as whole, instead of viewing disabled bodies as lesser than, instead of creating value judgements based on how a disabled person accesses their world.
Wholeness is not determined by how many eyes you have or how many working ears you have. It doesn't depend on which limbs work or how many of them you have, either. Wholeness is about personhood, and honoring the bodies of your fellow humans.”
“The English language is perniciously ableist. We speak in metaphor that constantly puts down disabled bodies, with phrases like "turning a blind eye" and "it fell on deaf ears" falling from our lips so easily. People often tell me it's not that big of a deal. But, of course, if you've been listening to your language make you sound stupid, ignorant, and useless for your entire life, when you've made a profession out of the craft of language, you cannot help but find pain in the ways that language cuts you to the quick."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Chronic illness, Bullying, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Body shaming, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts
bethany6788's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This memoir was incredibly thought provoking, infuriating, informative, and pushed me to think differently. The author shares her experience as a deaf blind woman in the world, and shares what she’s learned and how we still have to go as a society. So many of these chapters made me so mad, and I think that was the goal. I loved how she talked so frankly about even the smallest of changes that would make a world of difference. We have so much work to do to make society more catered to people with disabilities. One of the things Elsa said that stuck with me is kids with disabilities are cute, and when they grow up, we forget about them as a society and expect them to conform, rather than help the world adjust to them. She mentioned how difficult it is to get basic services and it completely shocked me. Any of us could be a person with a disability. I want to read and know more. Education is power. I fully recommend this one, and listen to the audio. Powerful.
ohcorrica's review
5.0
Beautiful, funny, informative, and relatable. Elsa Sjunneson does an incredible job at sharing her story while writing on the broader topic of ableism and accessibility. As a disabled person, I appreciate the necessary and difficult work Sjunneson has put into this book. Too many people experience ableism on a daily basis and there is little attention to the harm it causes.
"It is a truth universally unacknowledged that you could become disabled at any point in your life" - Elsa Sjunneson
I reviewed this book in exchange for an advance copy. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me this opportunity.
"It is a truth universally unacknowledged that you could become disabled at any point in your life" - Elsa Sjunneson
I reviewed this book in exchange for an advance copy. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me this opportunity.