Books for Disability Pride Month

By Coll Rowe | June 7 2023 | Sociology

We are celebrating Disability Pride Month in July with books from disabled writers, artists, and activists who have fought to create a more open, inclusive, and beautiful world. Find our list of creative works in literature, memoir, and history here:

An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
9780807002803
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year for NonfictionOne 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.
$16.99 US
Feb 23, 2021
Paperback
232 Pages
Beacon Press

First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century
9781984899422
One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people.
$18.00 US
Jun 30, 2020
Paperback
336 Pages
Vintage

A Novel
9780593241523
A “tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged” (The New York Times Book Review) novel that follows a year of seismic romantic, political, and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf, from the acclaimed author of Girl at War
$19.00 US
Feb 28, 2023
Paperback
416 Pages
Random House Trade Paperbacks

A Memoir at the End of Sight
9781984881427
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
$29.00 US
Jul 18, 2023
Hardcover
368 Pages
Penguin Press

An Activist's Life
9780593315392
From the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, and the editor of the acclaimed anthology Disability Visibility, this groundbreaking memoir in essays offers a glimpse into an activist's journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice.
$17.00 US
Sep 06, 2022
Paperback
400 Pages
Vintage

What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally
9781984858979
An approachable guide to being a thoughtful, informed ally to disabled people, with actionable steps for what to say and do (and what not to do) and how you can help make the world a more accessible, inclusive place.
$16.00 US
Sep 07, 2021
Paperback
176 Pages
Ten Speed Press

Dispatches from a Post-ADA World
9780807036457
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)
$29.95 US
Nov 29, 2022
Hardcover
272 Pages
Beacon Press

A Scientist's Quest for Nature's Next Medicines
9781984879134
A leading medical ethnobotanist tells us her story in this uplifting and adventure-filled memoir that illuminates how the path forward for medical discovery may be found in nature’s oldest remedies. 
$18.00 US
Jun 14, 2022
Paperback
384 Pages
Penguin Books

Making Peace with a Stutter
9780593319130
An intimate and candid memoir of a lifelong struggle to speak.
$29.00 US
Jan 17, 2023
Hardcover
272 Pages
Knopf

A Memoir
9781984820327
The vividly told, gloriously illustrated memoir of an artist born with disabilities who searches for freedom and connection in a society afraid of strange bodies
$20.00 US
Oct 26, 2021
Paperback
448 Pages
One World

What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity
9780807025680
A diverse collection of autistic voices that highlights how parents can avoid common mistakes and misconceptions, and make their child feel truly accepted, valued, and celebrated for who they are.
$16.95 US
Mar 30, 2021
Paperback
224 Pages
Beacon Press

The Story of Clara Park, Her Autistic Daughter, and the Myth of the Refrigerator Mother
9780807025628
How one mother challenged the medical establishment and misconceptions about autistic children and their parents
$28.95 US
Mar 23, 2021
Hardcover
272 Pages
Beacon Press

A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness
9781984898401
From Homer to Helen Keller, from Dune to Stevie Wonder, from the invention of braille to the science of echolocation, M. Leona Godin explores the fascinating history of blindness, interweaving it with her own story of gradually losing her sight.
$18.00 US
Aug 30, 2022
Paperback
352 Pages
Vintage


9780525435983
Brilliantly combining memoir, biography, and original reporting, Casey Schwartz documents the abundant demands on our attention with piercing insight and illuminates the path to reclaiming authentic life.
$15.95 US
Sep 07, 2021
Paperback
256 Pages
Vintage

Second Edition, Completely Revised and Updated
9780679781592
From one of the world’s leading experts on reading and dyslexia, the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and practical book yet to help understand, identify, and overcome the reading problems that plague American children today.
$21.00 US
Jan 04, 2005
Paperback
608 Pages
Vintage

My Life with Autism
9780307275653
The captivating subject of Oliver Sack's Anthropologist on Mars, here is Temple Grandin's personal account of living with autism and how the extraordinary gift of animal empathy has transformed her world and ours.
$19.00 US
Jan 10, 2006
Paperback
320 Pages
Vintage

People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement
9780812924121
"Joseph Shapiro has crafted an interesting book from which everyone can benefit. For those wanting to understand the background against which the Americans with Disabilities Act was framed, this is an excellent primer. At the same time, seasoned veterans of the movement will find within a refreshing review of the personalities and activities of the Disabilities Civil Rights Movement. And for parents seeking a glimpse of possibilities for their child, this book cannot fail to inspire."
$20.00 US
Oct 25, 1994
Paperback
400 Pages
Crown