While June is Pride month, July offers a different type of Pride – Disability Pride Month. Created to honor the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, it’s a time to educate the general public about disability issues and recognize the rich history, achievements and contributions of people with disabilities. There’s so much to highlight, but let’s take a look specifically at the best Disability Pride books on the market today.
The first Disability Pride Day was celebrated in Boston in 1990. In 2004, Chicago was the host to the first Disability Pride Parade. The 2024 Disability Pride theme is “We Want a Life Like Yours,” to reflect the “disability community’s dreams for life experiences that they are too often denied.”
It’s also a great time to educate on ableism, which is defined as “a set of beliefs or practices that devalue or discriminate against people with physical, intellectual or psychiatric disabilities.” The problem with ableism is that it can be so ingrained you might not even know you’re doing it. The best recourse is education. These books are a good way to start (or continue) that process.
10. ‘The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating’ by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
A touching book about a girl name Bailey who’s confined to her bed with an illness. She spends her time watching a snail on her nightstand and becomes enamored by its resilience. A book about appreciating what you have, and not focusing on what you don’t.
9. ‘Wonder’ by R J Palacio
The story of facially disfigured August Pullman who enters mainstream school for the first time in the 5th grade. It’s a story told from various perspectives with an ending that will make you cheer.
8. ‘Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law’ by Haben Girma
Haben is perhaps one of the most inspiring stories of our time. Haben Girma is deaf-blind and she outlines her journey through life culminating with a law degree from Harvard. Really puts some of our daily struggles into perspective when we learn about people like her who’ve overcome incredible odds.
7. ‘Overthinking About You Navigating Romantic Relationships When You Have Anxiety OCD & or Depression’ by Allison Raskin
A must-read for those who want to date but struggle with OCD and/or anxiety and depression. It’s half memoir, half self-help and all catered to help struggling people realize that there’s hope and that their diagnosis doesn’t control them.
6. ‘True Biz’ by Sara Novic
True Biz tells the story of the year in the life of a teacher and her students at the River Valley School for the Deaf. It’s a deep dive into the deaf community that highlights the compassion and determination of the human spirit regardless of the circumstances.
5. ‘Easy Beauty’ by Chloe Cooper Jones
Born with a rare condition called sacral agenesis, Chloé Cooper’s life is one of calculation and pain. She explores how the way she’s perceived affects her day-to-day life, and how motherhood helped her reclaim the space she felt she never had as someone with a disability.
4. ‘Roll with It’ by Jamie Sumner
Kind of in the vein of Wonder, Roll with It is about Ellie’s journey navigating a new school and making new friends while dealing with her cerebral palsy and the things that come along with it. Faced with a litany of setbacks, it’s an uplifting tale about how friendship can change everything.
3. ‘Disability History of the United States’ by Kim E. Nielsen
There is plenty of meat on this list, how about some vegetables. This book is an exhaustive history with people with disabilities at the forefront. It uses primary sources and social histories to shine an ancillary light on the issue and shape historical events through that particular lens.
2. ‘Demystifying Disability: What To Know, What To Say, and How To Be an Ally’ by Emily Ladau
An easy to follow and understand book about what steps can be taken to help make the world around you into a better place. It dispels many disability myths and offers practical help for those who want to help but just don’t know where to start.
1. ‘Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century’ by Alice Wong
Alice Wong is one of the most prominent disability writers, and she’s also the the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, which helps to highlight disability media and its culture. This book offers a rich tapestry into the multilayered aspects of being disabled with urgent essays by all types of notable disabled people. This will change the way most people think about disabilities. It’s really an astonishing collection.