Review: Disability Visibility

 

I found this collection of stories and essays related to disability activism and advocacy a few weeks ago.

I thought the book, edited by disability activist Alice Wong, was a major mixed bag.

I'm not the biggest fan of activism (sometimes too aggressive of an approach for my tastes). I'm not the biggest fan of things like identity politics, or when people complain about actors like Bryan Cranston in films like The Upside either. Disability Visibility had a lot of all those things.

However, most of the essays were pretty well-written and engaging. A few were even down right entertaining.

An essay about New York City's accessible transit, which seemed all too familiar, praise for Selma Blair's sharing about her struggles with MS, and an author's explanation of why she dedicated her first novel to a friend with a similar condition were all nicely uplifting. 

One essay was transcribed from a TED Talk by a blind astronomer who uses sound, specifically a process called sonification, to do her work, and how that process is expanding. The original presentation needs to be watched to fully appreciate it.

My favourite was an essay called Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time. The author, who lives with a debilitating genetic disorder, writes about how the concept of time seems different for disabled people, having to be in situations where you feel older and younger all at once. There are other explanations, including a really neat comparison to vampires, but the essay's so good I may do a whole separate post based on the concept!

A sometimes depressing slog to get through, but lots of good stuff that ultimately made Disability Visibility worth getting.

Cheers!