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This year, Disability December hits a little differently. Last month, Alice Wong, a well-known and beloved disability activist, passed away. Her work in disability advocacy has changed the way so many of us think about disability. Alice fought for disabled people to be included in whatever project she was working on. When she edited Disability Visibility, she ensured that disabled people were involved every step of the way. She was truly a disability icon.
In honor of her work, here are a handful of books that I’ve picked up because of Alice’s advocacy. There are books discussing disability history, queer crip theory, and online disability activism. But first, let’s start with Alice’s own story.
Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life by Alice Wong
Year of the Tiger was, hands down, one of my favorite books of 2022, and I treasure it even more now that Alice has passed. It’s such a meaningful thing to have this record of her life in her own words. In Year of the Tiger, Alice shares stories from her life, excerpts from articles she’s written for various publications, and transcripts of interviews she conducted in the last several years. I really appreciated her multimedia approach to her memoir, which gives it a unique feel, like snapshots from her life.
The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love with Me by Keah Brown
Creator of the viral #DisabledAndCute campaign, disability rights advocate Keah Brown, shares her story of growing up with cerebral palsy and a nondisabled identical twin (who people would call “the pretty one”). Brown learns to love herself and celebrate her life, encouraging other disabled people to do the same.
Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir About a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner
In her memoir, disability rights activist Judith Heumann shares her experience growing up with polio. Being denied basic rights from an early age inspired her to fight for the rights of disabled people. Heumann was a key figure in disability rights activism up until her death a few years ago, and her story is an important one to remember.
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How to Tell When We Will Die: On Pain, Disability, and Doom by Johanna Hedva
In one of the most captivating reads of 2024, Johanna Hedva examines what it’s like to live in a disabled body. In their viral essay, “Sick Woman Theory,” Hedva delves into ideas around the question “What does protesting look like when you’re a disabled, mostly housebound person?” Crip theory, gender and sexuality, class politics—Hedva covers it all throughout the collection.
You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
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