A review by thedisabledreader
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From the Twenty-first Century by Alice Wong

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Although it may not be *the* disabled book, it is certainly a place to start for listening to diverse and individual perspectives within or out of your own communities. These creators, Alice Wong included, are witty and funny yet still maintain the vulnerability and strength necessary to share their experiences in such a public light. They are captivating and open to being wrong, willing to learn and letting the reader do so as well. 

The authors and speakers are all disabled, but there is very little overlap within disabilities. Diversity is not just a theme in this, it is a celebrated requirement. Thoughts are shared on different issues, different identities, different marginalizations and intersections, walks of life, and opinions. Despite the individuality of each story, the stories are well structured and engaging, especially when stories relate or build off similar foundations.

This is the first time I have ever seen one of my chronic illnesses, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, even briefly mentioned in any mainstream media - or anywhere outside of the disabled community on social media. 

The author with EDS wrote an entire story for this. Although it wasn’t necessarily groundbreaking to me in its subject, disabled motherhood, it will remain a part of my life that I can attribute an important ‘first’ to. That’s a feeling I want everyone to feel - and then a million times afterward - and that is a feeling that this book can bring.
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