0%

Book Description

“This book reminds us of what we have in common: the power to create a good life for ourselves and for others, no matter what the world has in store for us.” —Michael J. Fox

This book reveals that people with disabilities are the invisible force that has shaped history. They have been instrumental in the growth of freedom and birth of democracy. They have produced heavenly music and exquisite works of art. They have unveiled the scientific secrets of the universe. They are among our most popular comedians, poets, and storytellers. And at 1.2 billion, they are also the largest minority group in the world.

Al Etmanski offers ten lessons we can all learn from people with disabilities, illustrated with short, funny, inspiring, and thought-provoking stories of one hundred individuals from twenty countries. Some are familiar, like Michael J. Fox, Greta Thunberg, Stephen Hawking, Helen Keller, Stevie Wonder, and Temple Grandin. Others deserve to be, like Evelyn Glennie, a virtuoso percussionist who is deaf—her mission is to teach the world to listen to improve communication and social cohesion. Or Aaron Philip, who has revolutionized the runway as the first disabled, trans woman of color to become a professional model. The time has come to recognize people with disabilities for who they really are: authoritative sources on creativity, love, sexuality, resistance, dealing with adversity, and living a good life.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Preface
  6. Introduction. The Disability Advantage
  7. A Word about Words
  8. Lesson 1. If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
    1. What Gord Walker Taught Me
    2. Body Politics: Catherine Frazee
    3. Brilliant Imperfection: Eli Clare
    4. The Gift: Judith Snow
    5. A Brief History of Imperfection: Dr. Stephen Hawking
    6. If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It: The Schappell Twins
    7. Hidden Wholeness: Parker Palmer
    8. Humanity Passport: Naoki Higashida with David Mitchell
    9. A Culture with No Boundaries: Carey, Shelly, and Zoe Elverum
  9. Lesson 2. Funny Things Happen on the Way to the Future
    1. What David Roche Taught Me
    2. Funny Things Happen on the Way to the Future: Michael J. Fox
    3. Laughing Matters: Maysoon Zayid
    4. If at Birth You Don’t Succeed: Zach Anner
    5. Changing the World One Laugh at a Time: Nidhi Goyal
    6. Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot: John Callahan
    7. Get Down Moves: Lauren Potter
    8. Smart Ass Empire: Mike Ervin
    9. Funny, You Don’t Look Crazy: Victoria Maxwell
  10. Lesson 3. Label Jars, Not People
    1. What Cradle Heaven Taught Me
    2. The Mismeasure of Man: Stephen Jay Gould
    3. The Power of Not Fitting In: Temple Grandin
    4. Dethroning Stereotypes: Peter Dinklage
    5. Identity Complications: Cristina Hartmann
    6. The R-Word: Timothy Shriver
    7. Breaking the Silence: Allie Cashel
    8. Label Jars, Not People: Edith Sheffer
    9. Branding Disability: Albert Lasker
  11. Lesson 4. There Ain’t No Cure for Love
    1. What Phil and Wendy Allen Taught Me
    2. Hot, Wet, and Shaking: Kaleigh Trace
    3. There Ain’t No Cure for Love: Leonard Cohen
    4. Love at Second Sight: Marlena Blavin
    5. Sex and the Gimpy Girl: Nancy Mairs
    6. Crossing Half of China to Sleep with You: Yu Xiuhua
    7. Fifty Shades of Scarlet: Mik Scarlet
    8. Things Disabled People Know about Parenting: Ing Wong-Ward
    9. In Sickness and in Health: Ben Mattlin
  12. Lesson 5. All Means All
    1. What Ted and Josh Kuntz Taught Me
    2. The Elephant in the Room: Caroline Casey
    3. Krip-Hop Nation: Luca Patuelli
    4. Runway to the World: Aaron Philip
    5. Unleash Different: Rich Donovan
    6. Navigating Privilege and Power: Deborah Dagit
    7. Sharing Lives: The Village of Geel and Alex Fox
    8. An Authentic Doctor: David Renaud
    9. All Means All: Marsha Forest and Jack Pearpoint
  13. Lesson 6. Adversity Is an Opportunity
    1. What Sam Sullivan Taught Me
    2. Mothering On: Christa Couture
    3. Breathing Love into Zika: The Guerreira Mothers of Brazil
    4. Radical Optimist: Helen Keller
    5. Adversity Is an Opportunity: Aimee Mullins
    6. Better and Darker Angels: Abraham Lincoln
    7. Image Maker: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
    8. Breaking Ground: Pearl S. Buck
    9. The Dark Side of the Game: Tim Green
  14. Lesson 7. Art Blooms at the Edges
    1. What Geoff McMurchy Taught Me
    2. Art Blooms at the Edges: Yayoi Kusama
    3. The Heart of the Matter: Itzhak Perlman
    4. Black Beauty: Anna Sewell
    5. The Key of Life: Stevie Wonder
    6. A Chair in the Sky: Charles Mingus with Joni Mitchell
    7. Outsider: Lucy Maud Montgomery
    8. Equals at Arthur’s Round Table: Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef
    9. Changing the World, One Painting at a Time: Yaniv Janson
  15. Lesson 8. Awaken to All Your Senses
    1. What Peggie Taught Me
    2. Touching the Rock: John Hull
    3. Awakening to Our Senses : Evelyn Glennie
    4. The Swoon of the Sensuous: DJ Savarese
    5. The Sounds of Science: Wanda Díaz-Merced
    6. Labyrinth: Jorge Luis Borges
    7. Transformer Man: Neil Young
    8. In My Language: Mel Baggs
    9. A Little Learning Is a Dangerous Thing: Alexander Pope
    10. By and for Equals: Nadia Duguay and Exeko
  16. Lesson 9. Nothing about Us without Us
    1. What Barb Goode Taught Me
    2. Climate Striking: Greta Thunberg
    3. Independent Living: Ed Roberts
    4. Accidental Activist: Alice Wong
    5. Manifesto for Citizenship: Carmen Papalia
    6. Disability Rocks: Heavy Load
    7. The Equality Effect: Fiona Sampson
    8. Breaking Bad Barriers: RJ Mitte
    9. Everything Is about Us: Carla Qualtrough
  17. Lesson 10. There Is No Independence without Interdependence
    1. What Powell River Taught Me
    2. Becoming Human: Jean Vanier
    3. Love’s Labor: Eva Kittay
    4. Purple, Green, and Yellow: Robert Munsch
    5. Moonbeams: Ian Brown
    6. The Four Walls of Her Freedom: Donna Thomson
    7. The Untouchables: Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and Abdel Sellou
    8. Poem for Michael: Kirsteen Main
    9. There Is No Independence without Interdependence: Bonnie Sherr Klein
  18. Conclusion. Life Comes from Life
  19. Notes
  20. Thanks
  21. Index
  22. About the Author
3.131.110.169