A Disability Pride Month Reading List

For centuries, and in many societies still today, disability has been portrayed as a curse, perhaps a judgment from an angry deity, and an embarrassment. While a soldier wounded in battle might be praised for heroism, someone born with a disability received little respect, and might be abandoned or abused. Disability Pride Month is one of many efforts to reframe our understanding of and interaction with disability.

Here, then, are a few books that celebrate disability every month of the year.

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner (print, e-book, audiobook, and for patrons of the NLS - National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled).

The legendary activist, who passed away in 2023, relates the intertwined stories of her life and the disability rights movement in the US. Disability history is rarely taught in schools, and Heumann provides valuable information as well as an insider’s perspective of unique moments that changed her life and ultimately the lives of millions of Americans with disabilities.

Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally by Emily Ladau (print, e-book, audiobook, and for patrons of the NLS)

A candid, approachable guide to being a thoughtful, informed ally to the world’s largest minority. Ladau shares important disability issues you need to know about and 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.

Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals About the Mind by Margalit Fox (print and for patrons of the NLS)

Fox investigates language as a communication tool, examining both spoken and signed methods of talking. With a team of researchers, she travels to a remote village in the Middle East that has an unusually high rate of deafness, which resulted in the development of a distinct sign language known only to residents.

The Untold Story of the Talking Book by Matthew Rubery (print, e-book, audiobook, and for patrons of the NLS)

This fascinating history of what we now call audiobooks will get you thinking about accessibility. Rubery uncovers early resistance to talking book libraries and arguments over the level of theatricality narrators should employ. He provides a valuable historical context for issues still under discussion today, such as right of access, who counts as disabled, the provision of a comfortable reading experience, and international copyright law.

There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness by M. Leona Godin (print, e-book, audiobook, and for patrons of the NLS)

From Homer to the present day, Godin delineates the myriad ways blindness has been portrayed and understood through the centuries. Informed by her personal experience and extensive research, the book reveals the complex relationship between disability in art and in reality.

The Island of the Colorblind by Oliver Sacks (print, e-book, and for patrons of the NLS)

Sacks wrote extensively about the patients he encountered in his long medical career, and we’d recommend all of his books. This book is one of his lesser-known works. In it, he chronicles his journey to Micronesian islands that have high rates of color blindness, encountering medical puzzles and unfamiliar cultures.

This list is just a sample of the ever-growing number of books examining disability from personal, political, and cultural perspectives. We’ll continue to share our favorites with you - and in the meantime, let us know what you’d recommend!