From the Periphery: Real-Life Stories of Disability

Description

From the Periphery consists of nearly forty first-person narratives from activists and everyday people who describe what it’s like to be treated differently by society because of their disabilities. Their stories are raw and painful but also surprisingly funny and deeply moving—describing anger, independence, bigotry, solidarity, and love, in the family, at school, and in the workplace.  Inspired by the oral historians Studs Terkel and Svetlana Alexievich, From the Periphery will become a classic oral history collection that increases the understanding of the lived experiences of people with disabilities, their responses to oppression, and the strategies they use to fight for empowerment.  Front Cover Title Page Half Title Copyright Contents Foreword by Senator Tom Harkin Prologue 1. I Got Angry I Felt This Rage: Marca Bristo I Just Never Could Get Angry Enough: Kiel, Renee, and Ken Moses The Best Way to Cope Is by Being Angry: Jacky Dorantes I’m Asked to Fight All the Time: Julie Schrager 2. What I Mean When I Talk About Disability We Are Less: James Charlton An Aspect of Human Variation: Heather Gabel 3. No One Sees Me You’re Literally Not Seen: Susan Nussbaum I Feel the Discrimination Like the Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts: Alissa Chung I Felt Like Deaf People Were Invisible: Rachel Arfa 4. Embracing Disability I Know People Now Who See Me: Timotheus Gordon A Part of the World That We Don’t Talk About: Matt Perry A Liberation to Become Truly Blind: Pam Berman Disability as a Transforming Experience: Rene David Luna 5. Alone at School You’re Still a Person with a Disability at the End of the Day: Curtis Harris You Stupid Nigger Chink. Can I Catch What You Have?: Andre Don’t Let Anybody Sit Alone at Lunch!: Jennifer Wheeler You Know Absolutely Nothing About Me: Erick Allen 6. To Be Loved Shutting People Out Is What I’ve Done: Candace Coleman Nobody Wants Me: Man Called J To Consider Me, Even Though I Couldn’t See: Sharon I Felt for a Very Long Time I Was a Monster: Rahnee Patrick 7. There’s So Much Dignity in Work Society Cannot Get Over the Fact That I Have a Disability!: Susan Aarup I Don’t Believe in Giving Up: Allen West Somebody’s Gonna Take One Look at My White Cane: Anonymous Woman I Just Want Justice: Mary Rosenberg 8. Out in Public I Wouldn’t Tell Anyone: Fred Friedman It’s Almost Like I’m Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Judy You Don’t Have Dwarf Phobia. You’re Just a Bigot!: Gary Arnold 9. Independence Just Like a Person: Michael Grice I Want to Spread My Wings Too: Michelle Garcia But We Do Not Like Pity!: Edwin, Luisa, Alfredo, Alberto, Jose, and Michelle 10. I Am Not Inspiring I’m Going to Give Them a Show: Amber Smock I’m Just a Regular Person Doing Regular Things: Keianna Parker His Existence Is Not Inspirational: Aaron and Birdy Holzmueller 11. If Nobody Thinks I’m Worthy, Maybe I’m Not You’re Not Important Enough: Mike Ervin I’m Free from That Now: Kathiana Epilogue Acknowledgments Index About Access Living Back Cover