logo

75 pages 2 hours read

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century

Nonfiction | Anthology/Varied Collection | Adult | Published in 2020

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Book Brief

logo
Ed. Alice Wong

Disability Visibility

Nonfiction | Anthology/Varied Collection | Adult | Published in 2020
Book Details
Pages

309

Format

Anthology/Varied Collection • Nonfiction

Publication Year

2020

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

Roundup icon

Super Short Summary

Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong is an anthology featuring 37 nonfiction essays written by people with physical, intellectual, psychiatric, and sensory disabilities, exploring diverse topics such as medical trauma, personal relationships, career success, art, activism, and politics. The book emphasizes an intersectional approach to disability, highlighting the intersecting identities of most authors, who are often queer, women, and/or people of color. Through these personal narratives, the anthology seeks to challenge ableism and transform societal norms by centering disabled voices.

Informative

Inspirational

Emotional

Contemplative

Heartwarming

Reviews & Readership

Roundup icon

Review Roundup

Alice Wong's edited volume, Disability Visibility, is widely praised for its diverse and authentic representation of disabled voices, offering profound insights into their lived experiences. Critics commend its accessibility and depth but note occasional unevenness in essay quality. Despite this, the anthology is considered essential reading for fostering empathy and understanding within the broader societal context.

Who should read this

Who Should Read Disability Visibility?

Readers who would enjoy Disability Visibility by Ed. Alice Wong are typically interested in social justice, personal narratives, and underrepresented voices. Fans of books like Being Heumann by Judith Heumann and Crip Camp by James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham will find this anthology particularly compelling.

Character List

Alice Wong

An Asian American disability rights activist who is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, contributing significantly to disability media and culture, though she did not author any essays in the collection.

An Australian moral philosopher known for his controversial views on euthanasia and infanticide, sparking significant criticism from disability rights activists and discussed critically in some essays within the collection.

A survivor of Forest Haven Asylum whose life story challenges legal discrimination against the intellectually disabled, sharing his experiences before the US Senate and showcasing his and his wife's successful life post-asylum.

A Puerto Rican astronomer who innovated the use of sonification in astronomy after losing her eyesight, making the field more accessible for blind and vision-impaired scientists.

An academic specializing in feminist studies and disability theory, notable in the collection for her influential text "Feminist, Queer, Crip," which is referenced by multiple contributors for its intersectional perspectives.

Book Details
Pages

309

Format

Anthology/Varied Collection • Nonfiction

Publication Year

2020

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

Continue your reading experience

Subscribe now to unlock the rest of this Study Guide plus our full library, which features expert-written summaries and analyses of 8,000+ additional titles.