Disability Pride Month Books

Fiction
Nonfiction

	So Lucky by Nicola Griffith Genre: Autobiographical Fiction The profoundly personal and emphatically political story of a confident woman forced to confront an unnerving new reality when in the space of a single week her wife leaves her and she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Author Nicola Griffith was the winner of Authors with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses (ADCI) Literary Prize in 2022.
	All The Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barow Genre: Literary Fiction Moving and complex, this debut novel is written from the point of view of an autistic mother navigating a complicated relationship with her headstrong teenage daughter. The book also explores themes of social alienation and class disparity. Written by an autistic woman, this title was the runner-up for the ADCI Literary Award in 2023.
	Las Madres by Esmeralda Santiago Genre: Literary Fiction Returning to Puerto Rico to help her mother learn more about her early life, Marysol, along with her mother's friends "las Madres" and their daughter Graciela, finds the trip disrupted by two hurricanes and a secret that blows their lives wide open, in this powerful novel of women's sexuality, shame, disability and love.
	Good Kings, Bad Kings by Susan Nussbaum Genre: General Fiction The residents at a facility for disabled young people in Chicago build trust and make friends in an effort to fight against their living conditions and mistreatment in this debut novel from the playwright behind "Mishuganismo." Winner of the Barbara Kingsolver award for literature addressing issues of social justice (2012).
	True Biz by Sara Nović Genre: Literary Fiction The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. Charlie, a transfer student who’s never met another deaf person before; Austin, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the headmistress, who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact. As a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find their lives inextricable from one another—and changed forever. Winner of the ALA’s 2023 Alex Award.
	Happiness Falls by Angie Kim Genre: Mystery Mia isn't initially concerned when her family fails to return from a walk, until her mute brother Eugene, who suffers from a rare genetic condition, returns bloody and alone and is unable to describe what happened to their father. Awarded LibraryReads Favorites (2023).
	The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki Genre: Magical Realism Thirteen-year-old Benny Oh starts to hear voices after the death of his musician father. At first, Benny tries to ignore them, but soon the voices drive him to seek sanctuary in the silence of a large public library, where objects are quieter. There, Benny encounters a homeless philosopher-poet, who encourages him to ask important questions and find his own voice amongst the many. Winner of the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction (2021).
	Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro Genre: Mystery/Thriller After Rita is found dead in the bell tower of the church she used to attend, the official investigation into the incident is quickly closed. Her mother, who is afflicted with Parkinson’s disease, is the only person still determined to find the culprit. Chronicling a difficult journey across the suburbs of the city, an old debt and a revealing conversation, Elena Knows unravels the secrets of its characters and the hidden facets of authoritarianism and hypocrisy in our society.
	Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Genre: Romance This story follows Louisa, a young woman hired as an assistant to Will, a sports enthusiast, struggling with daily life after a motorcycle accident leaves him wheelchair. The plot revolves around their relationship and his mental health struggles. Awarded by the Reference and User Services Association with a place on the 2014 Reading List, this book has been recognized as outstanding genre fiction and was adapted into a movie.
	How Lucky by Will Leitch Genre: Mystery Daniel is a 26 year old living with a degenerative disease who cannot speak due to his spinal muscular atrophy and must use an assistive mobility device to get around. When he witnesses the kidnapping of a young college student by his neighbor, he works to solve the crime. Winner of the ALA’s 2022 Alex Award.

Awards Celebrating Literature By And About Disabled Individuals

Looking to read more? Check out the following awards:

The ADCI Award: Launched in 2022, the Authors with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses) Literary Prize seeks to encourage greater positive representation of disability in literature: https://www2.societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/the-adci-literary-prize/.
The Barbellion Prize: This literary award is dedicated to the furtherance of ill and disabled voices in writing. The prize is awarded annually to an author whose work has best represented the experience of chronic illness and/or disability: https://www.thebarbellionprize.com/.
The DHA Outstanding Book Award: The Disability History Association promotes the relevance of disability history and facilitates research, publication, conference travel, and public history initiatives related to disability history: https://dishist.org/?page_id=291.
The Disabled Poets Prize: The UK’s first Disabled Poets Prize was launched in 2023 and looks to find the best work created by UK-based deaf and disabled poets, in written English and in British Sign Language: https://disabledpoetsprize.org.uk/.

	Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Memoir by Alice Wong Topic: Memoir, Activism Drawing on a collection of original essays, previously published work, conversations, graphics, photos, commissioned art by disabled and Asian American artists, and more, the author uses her unique talent to share an impressionistic scrapbook of her life as an Asian American disabled activist, community organizer, media maker, and dreamer.
	The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning Songs by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha Topic: Medicine, Ableism, Social Justice The pandemic has been incredibly difficult for disabled people who have been asked to “take one for the team” by wider society. Piepzna-Samarasinha writes encouragement to disabled folks, relishing in our community’s creativity in our fight for survival. They also mourn those lost in the pandemic and the care crisis so many of us still face.
	Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths About Disability by Melissa Blake Topic: Social Media, Memoir In her manifesto, Beautiful People, Blake shares her truths about disability, writing about (among other things): Blake also tells the stories of some of the heroes of the disability rights movement in America, in doing so rescuing their incredible achievements from near total obscurity. Highlighting other disabled activists and influencers, Blake’s work is the calling card of a powerful voice—one that has sparked new, different, better conversations about disability.
	Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew Topic: Technology, Ableism When bioethicist and professor Ashley Shew became a self-described “hard-of-hearing chemobrained amputee with Crohn’s disease and tinnitus,” there was no returning to “normal.” Suddenly well-meaning people called her an “inspiration” while grocery shopping or viewed her as a needy recipient of technological wizardry. Most disabled people don’t want what the abled assume they want—nor are they generally asked. Almost everyone will experience disability at some point in their lives, yet the abled persistently frame disability as an individual’s problem rather than a social one.
	Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann Topic: Memoir, Disability Rights Activism An influential disability-rights activist recounts her lifelong battles for education, employment and societal inclusion, in a personal account that includes coverage of her role in advising the Carter administration to help create the Americans with Disabilities Act.
	Disability Pride: Dispatches From a Post-ADA World by Ben Mattlin Topic: Society & Culture A disabled journalist documents how the “ADA Generation” has grown up, the rise of neurodiversity, impact of identity politics and representation, and the state of a disability rights and justice agenda. Weaving together interviews with reportage, Disability Pride traces the evolution of societal attitudes and activist agendas around disability from a fight for civil rights to a celebration of identity and heritage.
	Centered: Autism, Basketball and One Athlete's Dreams by Anthony Ianni and Rob Keast Topic: Biography, Sports Diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder, a form of autism, as a toddler, Anthony Ianni wasn't expected to succeed in school or participate in sports, but he had other ideas. As a child, Ianni told anybody who would listen, including head coach Tom Izzo that he would one day play for the Michigan State Spartans. Centered: Autism, Basketball, and One Athlete's Dreams is the firsthand account of a young man's social, academic, and athletic struggles and his determination to reach his goals.
	The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew Leland Topic: Autobiography, Society & Culture Part memoir, part historical and cultural investigation, the author, midway through his life with retinitis pigmentosa, explores the state of being that awaits him, not only the physical experience of blindness but also its language, politics and customs so he can not only survive this transition but grow from it.
	Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs and Declarations of Independence by John Hockenberry Topic: Memoir, News Reporting With wit and flair, Founding Myths exposes the errors and inventions in thirteen of America’s most cherished tales, from Paul Revere’s famous ride to Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech. Exploring the dynamic intersection between history-making and story-making, award-winning author and historian Ray Raphael shows how these fictions—conceived in the narrowly nationalistic politics of the nineteenth century—undermine our democratic ideals.
	Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism by Ray Raphael Topic: Memoir, Arts & Entertainment In this blend of memoir, media criticism and cultural critique, the Deafblind writer and four-time Hugo Award finalist discusses how the media represents disability in books, movies and TV, as well as her efforts to fight ableism.

Disability Pride Month Books

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