Disability Memoir

One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings...

In the late 1970’s, a rare metabolic disorder called “Phenylketonuria” (PKU) was little known by the medical community. With this condition, a liver enzyme is missing, preventing the body from properly breaking down protein rich foods, which becomes toxic to the body. As the brain develops, high levels of "phenylalanine" can lead to severe intellectual hinderance, neurological conditions, and a failure to thrive. Everyone is tested for PKU shortly after birth, as it is passed on genetically.

Behind the Shutters is a powerful and unforgettable story of courage, resilience, and the human spirit’s refusal to be defined by limitation. Set against the backdrop of the 1960s—a time when families were often encouraged to institutionalize disabled children “for their own good”—this novel follows Stephie, a blind child growing up in institutional care, learning to survive in a world that was never designed to see her.

My body and its place in the world seemed quite normal to me. I didn’t grow up disabled, I grew up with a problem. A problem those around me wanted to fix. We have all felt that uncanny sensation that someone is watching us. The diagnosis helped but it didn’t fix everything. Don’t fear the...

A collision with a moose on a dark highway left Susan Mockler with an incomplete spinal injury, suddenly compromising her ability to walk and to care for herself. She spent months in a rehabilitation facility learning how to adjust to her new reality, and though her body partially recovered, every aspect of her life changed.

When she was 54, Lisa Knopp’s weight dropped to a number on the scale that she hadn’t seen since seventh grade. The severe food restricting that left her thin and sick when she was 15 and 25 had returned. This time, she was determined to understand the causes of her malady and how she could heal from a condition that is caused by a tangle of genetic, biological, familial, psychological, cultural, and spiritual factors.

In 1959, the year Terry Galloway turned nine, the voices of everyone she loved began to disappear. No one yet knew that an experimental antibiotic given to her mother had wreaked havoc on her fetal nervous system, eventually causing her to go deaf. As a self-proclaimed "child freak," she acted out her fury with her boxy hearing aids and Coke-bottle glasses by faking her own drowning at a camp for crippled children

When you hear the word “disability”, what comes to mind? Cheryl Schiltz tells her story of being introduced to disability. She shares her journey from a silent world to one that encased her in constant anxiety. Her life as she knew it had disappeared. It became one of a continuous fight between psychological and physical change. Noise. From her childhood, you’ll find yourself traveling with her as she discovers the power to gain control. She shares her story openly and honestly, raw and sensitive.

Fairy tales shape how we see the world, so what happens when you identify more with the Beast than Beauty? Amanda Leduc looks at fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Disney, showing us how they influence our expectations and behaviour and linking the quest for disability rights to new kinds of stories that celebrate difference.

The Legacy of Innocence is the true story of Phillip—a gentle, vulnerable young man whose world was small, fragile, and shaped entirely by routine, trust, and innocence. Through your eyes, the listener witnesses the quiet beauty of his life, the challenges he faced, and the profound impact he had on the people around him—especially you. Phillip lived with a purity that the world often overlooked. He didn’t judge, didn’t hate, didn’t pretend. He moved through life with a soft smile, a humble pride, and a deep reliance on the kindness of others.

Dreams To Actuality: From Wheelchair to Rancher—The Broderick Nixon Story is a powerful true story of resilience, faith, entrepreneurship, and legacy. Born with cerebral palsy and often underestimated because of his wheelchair, Broderick Nixon refused to let society define his future. In this deeply personal memoir, he shares the challenges of growing up with a disability, overcoming bullying, finding confidence, and learning how to turn pain into purpose.

A deaf writer’s exploration of language, communication, and what it means to be articulate—and her journey to reclaim her voice Rachel Kolb was born profoundly deaf the same year that the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, and she grew up as part of the first generation of deaf...

Hannah Daly is a pediatric occupational therapist and an advanced sensory integration practitioner who is profoundly dyslexic, dyspraxic, and has sensory processing disorder. She has multiple university degrees but still cannot read or write. In Knowing No Boundaries, she gives an honest account of living with these hidden disabilities. This book is a unique coming-of-age, feel-good memoir that strikes the balance of vulnerability and humor.

In 2004, Mindy begins hearing a voice in her head, someone she calls "Joe," and sees signs everywhere that hold mysterious clues only for her. What she doesn't know at the time is that she is experiencing her first schizophrenic episode. For the next decade, she oscillates between two worlds -- a normal life and a secret voice-filled one -- until she begins the journey of merging her two worlds back into one. Becoming Whole documents her onset of schizophrenia and the subsequent years spent learning about it and how to live with it. It is her journey to find solace.

John Cotter was thirty years old when he first began to notice a ringing in his ears. Soon the ringing became a roar inside his head. Next came partial deafness, then dizziness and vertigo that rendered him unable to walk, work, sleep, or even communicate. At a stage of life when he expected to be emerging fully into adulthood, teaching, and writing books, he found himself “crippled and dependent” and in search of care.

In 1959, the year Terry Galloway turned nine, the voices of everyone she loved began to disappear. No one yet knew that an experimental antibiotic given to her mother had wreaked havoc on her fetal nervous system, eventually causing her to go deaf. As a self-proclaimed "child freak," she acted...

Miya knew that she was different from everyone else. From struggling to fit in at school to dealing with an abusive home life, Miya became convinced that she was nothing but a potato who would never belong. But as Miya began to understand her neurodivergence and the God Who had created her perfectly in His image, she soon came to realize that she was created for so much more than what she envisioned in an online world of gaming and anime.

Darlene was a small-town single mother from Arkansas. Bert was a small-town preacher’s son from Oklahoma. Polio crippled both of them as teenagers. When their paths crossed at a rehab center in 1952, these young adults questioned how anything good could come from this crippling virus. Bert’s faith in the Biblical passage of Romans 8:28 gave him hope that “Polio was not good, but God would bring good out of it.” Darlene’s journey to the rehab center was “the one way for God to get me in the right place at the right time.”

You struggle with your disability. You're tired of being counted out of life. Are you frustrated because you feel, or have been told, you can't be 100% healthy with your disability? It's time for a change! It's time to prove everyone (including your doctors) wrong! Author and certified personal trainer Tony Jacobsen, who has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bones Disease), has transformed his entire life and now shares the formula to empower other people with disabilities.

Macular degeneration affects over eight million people in the United States. Patients lose central vision, the ability to read fine print and recognize faces. A diagnosis doesn't mean surrendering to these challenges. Instead, understanding this medical condition will help pave the way toward a better future-for yourself or loved one.