10 Books with Authentic Disability Representation

Published on 1 March 2023 at 11:25

March 1st is recognized as the Disability Day of Mourning, which honors people with disabilities who have been victims of filicide, or the murder of a person by a close relative, most commonly a parent or caregiver. Data suggest that children with disabilities are 3-6 times more likely to be victims of filicide than their non-disabled peers (Center for Disability Rights). In the last 5 years alone, more than 550 people with disabilities have been murdered by their parents or another close relative (Autistic Self-Advocacy Network). Not uncommonly, perpetrators of filicide face lighter sentences than other people convicted of murder because juries may place greater value on the parent or caregiver's burden of caring for a disabled child than on the life of the deceased. You can learn about the Disability Day of Mourning, protest filicide, and remember the victims with the help of the following organizations.

 

 

To mark this occasion, I've assembled a list of books with authentic disability representation. Often, literature, films, and television focus disability-related stories around the point of view of a non-disabled character, making disabled people side characters in their own stories. When we exclude disabled people from conversations about disability, we create an environment in which disabled people are devalued, dehumanized, and sometimes, even demonized. Simultaneously, we elevate non-disabled people who are caregivers or who simply show kindness toward a disabled person. The way we present disabled people and their non-disabled relatives or peers in the media can reinforce and reflect the way people interact with disabled people in the real world.

 

I hope more readers, both non-disabled people and people with disabilities, will find more opportunities to center disabled perspectives in the entertainment they consume. To support you in your quest to read books with positive disability representation, I've pulled together a list of books below.

Image Description: A young White woman with brown hair pulled away from her face studies a book she holds in her hands. She is wearing a loose, gray sweater over a striped, black and white turtleneck shirt. She is sitting in a wheelchair.

Photo Credit: Canva

10 Books with Authentic Disability Representation

  1. A Kind of Spark (Elle McNicoll): This book centers an autistic protagonist who finds herself deeply interested in the history of which trials. She builds a connection between the women executed for witchcraft and the treatment of autistic people because both groups of people are viewed as outcasts. Use WorldCat to find it at a library near you or buy here.
  2. Being Heumann (Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner): Heumann is a well-known spokesperson for the disability community in the United States and was a key activist in the fight to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. You may recognize her from the Netflix documentary Crip Camp. This memoir covers her childhood in the 1950s through her work in the Clinton and Obama administrations. Use WorldCat to find it at a library near you or buy here.
  3. Borderline (Mishell Baker): Baker uses her experience living with borderline personality disorder to inform her protagonist in this fantasy novel. During her hospital stay following a suicide attempt, Millie is inducted into a secret organization of disabled people who manage the connection between the Hollywood industry and the fey. Read the book here or buy here. Learn more about the author here.
  4. Disability Visibility (Alice Wong): Wong assembled this anthology of 35 stories by disabled writers to highlight the diversity of the disability community and to make disability visible to the broader public. Read the anthology here or buy here. Learn more about the Disability Visibility Project here.
  5. How to Lose Everything (Christa Couture): Written by an Indigenous Canadian singer and songwriter, this memoir covers a wide range of topics from disability, illness, and becoming a parent with beautifully decorated prosthetic limbs. I could not find this book through any of the online libraries, but you can read a preview and find a library that carries the book using Google Books. This is also a great opportunity to support an indigenous business by buying it here.
  6. Laughing at My Nightmare (Shane Burcaw): This is the author's first memoir in which he comedically details his everyday experiences living with spinal muscular atrophy. Read the book here or buy here. Learn more about Laughing at My Nightmare Inc. here.
  7. So Lucky (Nicola Griffith): The author's experiences with multiple sclerosis influences the characters and plot of So Lucky. This book illustrates the ableism in the medical community as the protagonist faces a new diagnosis and seeks medical support. Use Google Books to find this book at a library near you or buy here. Learn more about the author and her books here.
  8. The Collected Schizophrenias (Esme Weijun Wang): This collection of essays puts the focus on life with schizoaffective disorder and what it is like to move through the world with mental illness. Use WorldCat to find this book at a library near you or buy here. Learn more about the author here.
  9. The Perseverance (Raymond Antrobus): This award-winning book of poetry digs into ethnicity and deaf culture through the author's British-Jamaican identity and his experiences as a member of the deaf community. Use WorldCat to find this book at a library near you or buy here.
  10. The Witch Elm (Tana French): In this mystery, the the protagonist unravels a mystery while healing from a traumatic brain injury. Use WorldCat to look for the book at a library near you, use WorldCat to find an audio CD, or buy here. Learn more about the author and other books by French here.

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