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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
I have read some of Alice Wong's previous writing, and was eager to get my hands on this memoir. I was challenged, humored, and impressed!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed the different writings throughout this memoir. Reading this does shine a light on aspects of disability that might not be as commonly thought about. While some of the points were recaps of things I knew, it still brought up some other point that I'll be pondering.
I became aware of Alice Wing’s work, embarrassingly enough, through her work on Big Mouth. I then immediately read her anthology Disability Visibility. I want to qualify that I’m a big fan of her work and activism, but this was somewhat disappointing for me.
I really was under the impression that this was a memoir, or at least, personal essays. To some extent that is true. But the majority of the book is transcripts of talks and podcasts and previously published work. I’d read quite a few of the previously published works before.
I do have to recommend this book as required reading, especially for people who are not aware of the disability advocacy community. You don’t have to agree with every point or statement she makes, but it think the messaging is so clear, so elegant, and so clearly has had heart-wrenching labor and self poured into it. While I would highly recommend it, I just don’t think compared to other bodies of her work including her online presence that this is my favorite example of her work.
I really was under the impression that this was a memoir, or at least, personal essays. To some extent that is true. But the majority of the book is transcripts of talks and podcasts and previously published work. I’d read quite a few of the previously published works before.
I do have to recommend this book as required reading, especially for people who are not aware of the disability advocacy community. You don’t have to agree with every point or statement she makes, but it think the messaging is so clear, so elegant, and so clearly has had heart-wrenching labor and self poured into it. While I would highly recommend it, I just don’t think compared to other bodies of her work including her online presence that this is my favorite example of her work.
Care is infrastructure. Infrastructure is care. I want to keep returning to this book over and over—snacks, access, care, giving-no-fucks, aging, breathing, imagining.
Listened to the audiobook. No ideas here were new to me personally, but it triggered some kind of slow ball rolling that turned into me realizing I'd like to write a short scifi story about disability, so I think it gets credit as inspiration. (Only WE can use the "i" word, ableds!)
If there’s one big takeaway, it’s the reminder that to each person, their own life has infinite value. Living in pain sucks, but it doesn’t change the value of your own life. No outsider can assess the “quality” of your life based on what capabilities they feel are necessary for fulfillment.
If there’s one big takeaway, it’s the reminder that to each person, their own life has infinite value. Living in pain sucks, but it doesn’t change the value of your own life. No outsider can assess the “quality” of your life based on what capabilities they feel are necessary for fulfillment.
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
This book was given to me by a dear friend (thanks Allison!), since I loved Alice Wong’s anthology Disability Visibility. Reading her memoir was such a treat. I loved the format of the book as it drew from the extensive media she has participated in from podcasts to articles to essays to letters. In addition to continuing to read about her participation in the disability justice movement and advocacy, I loved reading about her life. It was fun to know more about her childhood, the impact of Chinese culture in her life, and her love of cats and pop culture. All memoirs are hard for me to get through in a timely manner, but this one was a great mix of personal stories with a lens on disability justice.
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced