People with Disabilities

When Abraham Verghese, a physician whose marriage is unraveling, relocates to El Paso, Texas, he hopes to make a fresh start as a staff member at the county hospital....

This program is read by the author, comedian and severe dyslexic Phil Hanley, who reveals his unlikely path to success in a story that is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking.

From the author of the groundbreaking anthology Disability Visibility comes another revolutionary collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience, and intimacy in all its myriad forms....

This intimate memoir reveals the woman inside one of autism’s most prominent figures, Jennifer O'Toole. At the age of 35, Jennifer was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, and for the first time in her life, things made sense....

In this unprecedented book, Grandin delivers a report from the country of autism....

A moving account of resilience, hope, fear, and mortality and how these things resonate in our lives, by actor and advocate Michael J. Fox....

The Christian classic detailing the remarkable events surrounding the 1967 diving accident that left Joni Eareckson Tada paralyzed. This special 45th anniversary edition of Joni commemorates the worldwide impact of her life story to people living with disabilities....

As Harry Potter's stunt double, David Holmes's amazing gymnastic skills saw him earn onscreen immortality. He was the first-ever person to play Quidditch on a broomstick; he dodged dragon's fire and dove deep into the Great Lake, without any gillyweed to protect him.

So begins Chloé Cooper Jones’s bold, revealing account of moving through the world in a body that looks different than most. Jones learned early on to factor “pain calculations” into every plan, every situation.

Break through the isolation and helplessness that caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients experience with this intimate story that offers practical advice, support, and hope....

Before becoming the actor, producer, advocate, and model that people know today, Nyle DiMarco was half of a pair of Deaf twins born to a multi-generational Deaf family in Queens, New York....

Nathan Glad was not expected to survive birth. Born with OI (Osteogenesis Imperfecta), also known as Brittle Bone, he has faced remarkable life challenges. Despite it all, Nathan remains determinately happy. This book contains his 7 Hacks for Happiness.

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....

In a memoir that is as wildly funny as it is emotionally shattering, Selma Blair tells the captivating story of growing up and finding her truth....

Living with AuDHD is like being a unicorn—misunderstood, contradictory, and often invisible to others. You shine with creativity and innovation, but struggle to fit in — always feeling 'too much'.

A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn't built for all of us and of one woman's activism - from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington - Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann's lifelong battle to achieve respect....

Katherine and Jay Wolf were a young couple living the dream in Southern California, but all was nearly lost when Katherine suffered a shocking near-fatal brainstem stroke and struggled to find hope in a life that looked nothing like the one they had before....

A memoir-in-essays from disability advocate and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty Rebekah Taussig, processing a lifetime of memories to paint a beautiful, nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most....

Founder of advocacy organization Diversability and creator of the viral Anti-Ableism Series on TikTok, Tiffany Yu takes listeners on a revelatory examination of disability—how to unpack your biases and build a disability-inclusive and accessible world.

This groundbreaking memoir offers a glimpse into an activist's journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice, from the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project....

Follow Michael and his guide dog, Roselle, as their lives are changed forever by two explosions and 1,463 stairs. In this harrowing story of trust and courage, discover how blindness and a bond between dog and man saved lives and brought hope during one of America’s darkest days....

Witty, winning, and revelatory, The Country of the Blind is a personal narrative of the author’s transition from sightedness to blindness and his quest to learn about blindness as a rich culture all its own.

Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits had earned him the label "social deviant"....

Paige Layle was normal. She lived in the countryside with her mom, dad, and brother Graham. She went to school, hung out with friends, and all the while everything seemed so much harder than it needed to be. A break in routine threw off the whole day....

While studying as a biology undergrad at UC Santa Cruz, Ian Mackay crashed his bike into a tree on campus. Writer Karen Polinsky recounts with Ian Mackay his accident and determined recovery.

When Phil Hanley was in first grade, he realized something that would forever set him apart from his peers: he couldn’t read. His teachers were ill-equipped to assist him, and he slipped through the school’s cracks, year by year falling further and further behind his friends. Finally, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability that would shape the rest of his life. Unable to pursue college or a traditional job, Phil was thrust into a life defined by unconventional twists. Eventually, he found himself on a stage with a microphone, a spotlight, and five minutes of jokes.

While society called his disability an obstacle and limitation, Neil argued that his "flourishing dystonia" allowed him to think, explore, and create art in a way most people cannot. True to his words, Neil embraced every opportunity to experience life to its fullest, from navigating the Alaskan wilderness in a wheelchair to commanding the spotlight on stage. In this deeply personal account, Neil invites listeners into his world as he remembers adventures and escapades, triumphs and disappointments.

On a September night in Montreal in 1993, Curtis Pride got his first Major League hit, prompting a long, emotional standing ovation from the crowd of 45,757 fans. Profoundly deaf since birth, Pride couldn’t hear their thunderous applause. But as the cheers grew louder and more insistent, he realized he was feeling those vibrations within his chest—an undeniable acknowledgment of an extraordinary achievement.

While studying as a biology undergrad at UC Santa Cruz, Ian Mackay crashed his bike into a tree on campus. Paralyzed from the shoulders down, Mackay adapted to his new life with the help of his dedicated family, particularly his mother, Teena Woodward, and a group of quirky friends. After years of despair, and against all odds, he became an inspiring leader, an innovator with Apple, and a world-record-breaking athlete.

The sun may shine brightly and the birds sing nearby. The clouds are not many when the Summer doesn't cry. The grass, so green when Spring rolled around. The leaves have all fallen when Fall comes to town. The coldness sets in, as daylight departs. Withdrawn within, where is the heat in my heart? Ever so tender was Springs fresh air. Frozen in ice is November's despair. Troubles have mounted and reached their peak. No one is around, for none do speak. From November 2nd through 10th, 2023 I suffered a complete mental and emotional collapse. At first, I could not walk or talk or see beyond ...

Living with AuDHD is like being a unicorn—misunderstood, contradictory, and often invisible to others. You shine with creativity and innovation, but struggle to fit in — always feeling 'too much'. Autism and ADHD pull you in opposite directions, creating a lifetime of contradictions no one else can see. AuDHD isn’t listed in diagnostic manuals because until 2013, you couldn’t be diagnosed with both conditions — despite a co-occurrence rate of approximately 50-70%. These two neurotypes often clash, like opposing magnets in the brain. ADHD craves novelty; autism resists change.

A seventy-year history of disability is threaded throughout these essays and intertwined with writing that celebrates lesbian love, explores the slapstick moments of life, and shares the obstacles and triumphs of becoming a writer later in life.

Monday, March 11, 2024, was remarkably uneventful—indeed, frankly dull—until around 5 p.m. that evening when Carl Davies collapsed in a heap. It was a day that would change his life forever. Stroke Me! Recounts the story of his recovery from a near-catastrophic brain haemorrhage. The author details, in often graphic detail, every step of his journey, from the stroke itself to the pain of physical and occupational therapy. He leaves no stone unturned as he describes the impact his illness has had on him and his family. Stroke Me!

In The Maniac with No Knees, Tyler Kania takes listeners on a raw, unfiltered ride through his journey with undiagnosed Bipolar I Disorder. From rugby fields to the edge of the Grand Canyon, from building a cryptocurrency start-up to coaching a women’s rugby team to victory, Tyler’s manic adventures push every boundary. Along the way, he uncovers a major tech scandal, survives run-ins with the Boston Mafia, and even attempts the unthinkable—before landing in a mental hospital, where he finally begins to heal.

A witty and honest account about Lorraine Ansell’s journey with chronic pain due to Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. This genetic life long condition cannot be cured, only managed. Lorraine talks about her life in constant pain and how that has created her personality and even clothes choices. Lorraine’s life is a continual compromise of activities and choices. This book explores her journey as well as the issues with tissues which she now realises were actually a thing and how much pain she has been in. Listen to how she comes to face up to pain and learns to accept and work with pain.