This is an important nonfiction book that people need to read. I alternated between the audio and digital book and took the time to really learn and reflect.

This book made me feel seen and to not feel as alone in my disability. It was interesting and informative to be able to see what others go through and what their world is like. There are definitely a lot of commonalities, however I just wish there would have been more of an opening for people to start a conversation. I felt like there was a lot of the information that was weighed down with an us vs. them mentality, as opposed to getting their story out there and letting people see their world for what it is without the jabs and pointed fingers. I can definitely understand feeling isolated and I totally get the concept of "crip time." I feel that so much of this will open so many eyes to all types of disabilities and hopefully will spread some awareness of our navigation into the world. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Alice Wong has put together a brilliant collection of a diverse group of people living with disability.The essays told in their voices with their life experiences will open your eyes engage you and educate you..#netgalley #knopfdoubleday.

I have a sister who suffered from a traumatic brain injury and since then I have wanted to learn about disabilities through the lens of various disabled people and their experiences. This book collects a variety of essays by writers who are reclaiming their spaces and making their voices heard.

Excellent. A wide-ranging collection of essays from contributors generously sharing their lives experiences of being disabled. Each voice shines, a testament to the editor. I immediately went and bought my own copy to keep after I’d finished reading it.

Freakin fantastic. Not much I can say that hasn’t been said, but this book really highlights the beauty, strength, and creativity found within the disabled community. I loved reading each and every essay, which is rare for me with compilations, but Alice Wong has done an excellent job of editing this collection to where every voice shines. Should absolutely be required reading

It took me a long time to finally read this, and then a long time to make my way through it, but not because I didn't like it. In fact, it's because it's a book that hits so close to home. I avoided it for a while because I was afraid the content would be too heavy and relatable, and while it was both of those things, it was also incredibly healing. I both felt seen and learned SO much about the experiences of those of us in the disability community, a community that is diverse and unique and incredible. Everyone should read this.

Things I really liked about this book: the variety of perspectives, writing styles, types of material, and how the material was organized.

This is an incredible and important book. I knew it would crack my mind open, and it did, and here are three (of MANY) lessons that I am taking away from this collection:
The diversity of what is included under the umbrella term of “disability” is vast,
And the simple fact that we all must simply do a better job of listening. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to accessibility. There are systems in place that need to be overhauled, yes, but as individuals, to simply LISTEN and understand and collaborate to increase accessibility to those around us will go a long, long way.
Pieces of writing like the ones in this collection (plus poetry, novels, art, photography, etc, etc) are vital and need to be elevated to normalize and encourage the conversations necessary to create a more accessible world.

Quotes that I loved:

“There is also dignity
in feral”

“Yet as disabled people, we know that one of our biggest gifts is the Mad, sick, disabled, Deaf dreams we are always dreaming and have always been dreaming, way beyond what we are allowed to dream. Not in the inspiration-porn way that’s the only way many abled people can imagine that disabled-people dream of ‘not letting disability stop us!’ Wanting to walk or see or be ‘normal’ above all costs, being a supercrip or an inspiration but never human. I’m talking about the small, huge, everyday ways we dream crip revolutions, which stretch from me looking at myself in the mirror—disheveled and hurting on day five of a major pain flare and saying, You know what, I’m not going to hate you today—to making disabled homes, disabled kinship, and community networks and disabled ways of loving, fighting, and organizing that not even the most talented abled could in a million years dream up.”

Everyone needs to read this collection, especially and specifically abled individuals. It’s really diverse in terms of disability, race, sexuality, gender, and more. And in this way Alice Wong was really thoughtful in editing the book together. I’m so appreciative of the work that all the writers did, and the vulnerability they showed in their honesty about their own lives. It makes you look at the world in a new way and think about all the ways we as a society and individuals have let disabled people down. But on a positive note, it makes me hopeful and look forward to a future that is more accessible and more inclusive.

This book is so full and wonderful, and is a great starting point to inspire you to read more own voices disability literature, memoirs, essays, articles. Consume all types of media!!

This is a really compellingly written and arranged collection. The pieces are generally short but they are all uniquely voiced, offering a multifaceted perspective on disability. I don't think I've ever read an edited collection that was this uniformly good.

I was impressed at the range of intersectional identities and experiences it represented. Such a necessary and important anthology!

This is a page turner of a book, packed with intersectional perspectives of people with disabilities. It is hard to choose my favorite essay from this stellar collection.

A few essays that resonated deeply with me were the author who publicly debated an ethicist who argued that people like her should never have been born, the NY transit essay, and the deaf prison inmate who did not get an ASL translator even for legal proceedings.

The deeply ableist practices in society can be invisible to able bodied and neurotypical individuals. This book educated me but at the same time entertained me. I highly recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is soo soo important. I know that many people with disabilities feel unseen and unheard. I, myself, am disabled. And if i'm being honest, there is a real lack of representation for those with disabilities in the media.
This collection of essays was amazing. Informative, fun, easy to read.
I'd recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

I'll definitely be looking out for other work by this author.

First of all, sorry for the delay caused in reading the books NetGallery sent me because I’m pregnant and things aren’t going well with me.

Anyhow, talking about the book I must say that it really is an impactful one. Every story gives an insightful into the life of those special ones. It is a must read for everyone. Some things can be felt if not endured.

This is a exemplary body of work that is critically important for everyone to read to understand what it means to be a disabled person. As a disabled person who faces constant discrimination and hate I was pleased to read this for review. Thank you to the publisher, to Net Galley and to the author for making this available on Net Galley.

The author Alice Wong is a force in the disabled community. Alice Wong is a disabled activist, media maker, and research consultant based in San Francisco, California. She is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to amplifying disability media and culture. Alice is also the host and co-producer of the Disability Visibility podcast. I highly recommend this podcast. From 2013 to 2015, Alice served as a member of the National Council on Disability, a very prestigious appointment indeed by President Barack Obama. Her calling as a disability activist is brought forth understanding for our disabled community.

As I read this book I found myself nodding my head and agreeing with the stories. I was captivated that people like me are out there having the same issues. This is the honest retelling of stories of various people with disabilities that means so much to all of our disabled community. . You are introduced to the people behind their disabilities here. To their struggles and their efforts to live in a abelist world. ( If you don't know what "Abelist" is then your obviously not disabled!) . I as a disabled person was so grateful throughout this book to read these stories that resonated with me.

The people featured here have a variety of disabilities. I educated myself as well as identified with so many of their struggles. At the forefront of these stories is a Nation that discriminates and abuses the disabled and treats us as outcast of society. We are 30 million strong yet we are outcast in America. I myself have been an outcast as I became disabled and suffered discrimination every time I step outside my own door. I have been screamed at by disability stalkers hired to follow and harass me for over a decade. I have been screamed at by a woman in my post office for wearing braces and moving slowly. So These inclusive stories resonated with me and I thank all that contributed with their life stories and I thank the author for putting our stories in the forefront of a society that prefers to look the other way. As disabled people we live a life of complete isolation and are not used to being able to share our stories because abelist people don't care. This is critical for everyone to read. If your not disabled it will behoove you to read this book for empathy and understanding to our disabled community.

It is a critical body of work that requires the readers full attention and when your done you will never dare discriminate against someone that is disabled again. You will finish this book knowing that you now understand what it is to live as a disabled person in America .

I loved this book, and learned so much. Every story contained a unique perspective, many of which I had never considered before. I think everyone should read this book and all could learn something about the Disability community.

I want to start by saying that I learned so much from this book. This anthology was a great jumping-off point into discussing living with a disability in the and has piqued my interest to learn more.

While I appreciated some essays more than others, I gained and recognized the value in them all.

As I continue striving to read more diversely, I will keep an eye on all the writers included moving forward.

A thoughtfully edited collection of essays from activists, authors, and everyday folks living with disabilities. This collection features writings from people with visible and invisible disabilities and covers a wide range of experiences and perspectives. The essays do not shy away from the challenges of living with disability in America, but they also do not shy away from joy either. Some of the essays have been previously published elsewhere, but bringing together this work in one anthology highlights the diversity of experiences. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone - whether you have personally experienced living with disability or not, this collection goes to show that it is not a monolithic experience.

I can't think of a better way for someone to hear so many different perspectives in one place than to read an essay anthology. In this case, editor Alice Wong compiled thoughts from 38 different writers. There are controversial opinions that would lend themselves well to a book club discussion. Since it would take a lot of time to find this many people with so many different experiences to chat with in real life, I appreciate getting the opportunity to hear what life is like for people I may never get the chance to encounter in the everyday. What is it like to be deaf in prison? Or to connect with a loved one when you cannot speak? What is it like to be blind and to connect with a guide dog for the first time? I would love to see this become a yearly anthology, or for there to be future volumes.

It is difficult to rate anthologies at the best of times, but because these stories/essays are deeply personal and important in their own right, I’m not going to rate this one as a whole. For the sake of NetGalley, I will give it a 4-star rating. I found the collection a bit uneven, with some essays better constructed and more impactful than others, but if you are interested in learning more about the experiences of disabled folks, this is a great place to start.