DIY Disability Studies Syllabus

I often get asked for books that affirm the complex disabled experience, both for disabled folks wanting to immerse themselves in stories of lived experience and for friends and loved ones of disabled folks who want to be better allies, caregivers, or supporters. I've collated some of my favourites here, but this list is definitely incomplete and always evolving as new voices join the conversation.

Importantly, this small collection of book recommendations features writing by multiply marginalized authors and advocates who speak to the intersectionality with other identities that intricately ties into their full human experience. All of the books recommended below are written by authors and advocates who openly identify as Disabled, because nothing about us should be done without us.

Care Work and The Future Is Disabled by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor

Disability Visibility and Disability Intimacy anthologies edited by Alice Wong

Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig

Rest Is Resistance: Free Yourself from Grind Culture and Reclaim Your Life by Tricia Hersey

How to Tell When We Will Die: On Pain, Disability, and Doom by Johanna Hedva

Unmasking Autism and Unmasking For Life by Devon Price

Mad World: The Politics of Mental Health by Micha Frazer-Carroll