There's a Book for That: Disability Pride Month
In July we celebrate Disability Pride Month to mark the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was the world’s first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities. The landmark legislation was passed on July 26, 1990. At Penguin Random House, we publish a range of excellent titles that honor the history, achievements, and experiences of the disability community, including the following fiction and nonfiction for all ages:
“A glorious, revelatory book.”—Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of An Immense World
In Unfit Parent, Jessica Slice debunks the exclusionary myths that deem disabled people “unfit” to care for their children, instead showing how disabled parents and disability culture provide valuable lessons for rejecting societal rules that encourage perfectionism and lead to isolation. Uplifting and powerful, Unfit Parent illuminates how disabled bodies and minds give us the hopeful perspectives and solutions we need for transforming a societal system that has left parents exhausted, stuck, and alone.
A haunting novel exploring a mother’s fierce love for her disabled son as she grapples with her own mental health, by the author of the feminist cult classic The Princess of 72nd Street.
“A literary phenomenon in Japan, Hunchback is an extraordinary and thrilling debut novel about sex, disability and power.”—International Booker Prize Judges
A bombshell bestseller in Japan, a defiant, darkly funny debut novel about a young woman in a care home seeking autonomy and the full possibilities of her life—”not only a major achievement in disability literature but great literature period” (Johanna Hedva)
“The Boys of Riverside is another example of how anyone can achieve their dreams, making what appears impossible, possible.” —Marlee Matlin, Academy Award winner
The Boys of Riverside looks back at the historic 2021 and 2022 seasons in which the California School for the Deaf chased history, following the personal journeys of Keith Adams (their dynamic deaf head coach), a student who spent the majority of the season sleeping in his father’s car parked in the Target lot, a fiercely committed player who literally played through a broken leg in order not to miss a crucial game, and myriad heart-wrenching and uplifting stories of the players who had found common purpose. Through their eyes, New York Times reporter Fuller reveals a portrait of high school athletics, and deafness in America.
The much-anticipated follow up to the groundbreaking anthology Disability Visibility: another revolutionary collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience, and intimacy in all its myriad forms.
A witty, winning, and revelatory 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. Thought-provoking and brimming with warmth and humor, The Country of the Blind is a deeply personal and intellectually exhilarating tour of a way of being that most of us have never paused to consider.
One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human…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, acceptance, and inclusion in society.
In her own words, the legendary American icon who overcame adversity to become a brilliant writer and powerful advocate for the disabled: The Story of My Life, The World I Live In, plus a dozen revealing personal letters, public speeches, essays, and more
Kim E. Nielsen, Keller’s biographer and the author of A Disability History of the United States, introduces the volume, which includes a 16-page portfolio of photographs and a newly researched chronology of Keller’s life, along with authoritative notes and an index.
Meg Zucker was born with one finger on each hand, shortened forearms, and one toe on each misshapen foot, caused by a genetic condition called ectrodactyly. She would eventually pass this condition on to her two sons, and, along with her husband, raise them and their adopted daughter, who has her own invisible differences. Born of the family’s hard-won experiences, this book offers invaluable advice on raising confident, empathetic, and resilient children who succeed, not despite but because of their differences.
A revealing portrait of the diverse disability community as it is today, and how disability attitudes, activism, and representation have evolved since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Beautifully written, without anger or pity, Disability Pride is a revealing account of an often misunderstood movement and identity, an inclusive reexamination of society’s treatment of those it deems different.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser is all too familiar with this question. What’s wrong isn’t her wheelchair, though—it’s exclusion, objectification, pity, and disdain. Loving Our Own Bones is a transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture. Loving Our Own Bones is an essential read that will foster and enrich conversations about disability, spirituality, and social justice.
FOR YOUNGER READERS
From Emmy Award–winning documentary filmmaker James Robinson comes a breathtaking illustrated memoir for readers ages 10 and up—inspired by the viral, Emmy-nominated short film Whale Eyes. Told through an experimental mix of intimate anecdotes and interactive visuals, this book immerses readers in James’s experiences growing up with strabismus, allowing them to see the world through one eye at a time.
An exhilarating dystopian YA recalling The Last of Us and Divergent—Climate of Chaos is a hard-hitting survival story featuring a disabled protagonist that explores the chilling effects of climate change and medical debt.
From the creators of This Is How We Play is a new jubilant, inclusive, luminously illustrated picture book that celebrates all the ways we communicate with each other. We sign, write, clap! We tap, stim, scream! So many ways to talk and joke, play and learn and dream. This joyful read-aloud, with an empowering refrain, from disability rights activists Jessica Slice and Caroline Cupp, demystifies and respects how disabled people and their families use different forms of communication to connect and show love. Back matter consists of a kid-friendly guide to thinking, learning, and talking about disability and communication; a glossary of the different disabilities represented throughout the book; and a guide for grown-ups on ways to encourage discussions about disabilities with the children in their lives.
The seventeen eye-opening essays in Disability Visibility, all written by disabled people, offer keen insight into the complex and rich disability experience, examining life’s ableism and inequality, its challenges and losses, and celebrating its wisdom, passion, and joy.
Sometimes people act like having a disability means you’re from another planet, even though over a billion people in the world have disabilities. So how do you talk about disability? How do you talk to people with disabilities? This book helps kids and grownups approach disability as a normal part of the human experience. This is one conversation that’s never too early to start, and this book was written to be an introduction for kids on the topic.
For more on these and related titles visit Disability Pride Month
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