What We Love: Books
Our team loves learning—and we plan to keep doing so forever.
Books help us slow down, sit with complexity, and deepen our understanding beyond headlines or soundbites. The titles shared here have shaped our thinking, challenged our assumptions, and supported our work in meaningful ways.
This list includes both fiction and non-fiction. Some books offer analysis and frameworks; others offer story, imagination, and emotional truth. All have something to teach us.
As you read, notice whose voices are centred, whose are missing, and what assumptions are being made about disability, access, and worth.
Our ask of you: learning is just the beginning. Your due diligence is to do something with what you learn. Reflect on it. Journal it. Share it. Talk about it. Implement an action or change. The work begins now.
Additions and Updated: December 4, 2025
Anthologies
Disability Visibility: 17 First-Person Stories for Today (Adapted for Young Adults)
Edited by Alice Wong
Content notes: Ableism, audism, chronic illness, mental health, trauma, medical procedures, death, and violence.
The book cover Multi-coloured geometric triangles enhance the cover. Text: Disability Visibility: 17 First-Person Stories for Today (Adapted for Young Adults)
Edited by Alice Wong
Allies: Real Talk about Showing Up, Screwing Up, And Trying Again Edited by Shakirah Bourne & Dana Alison Levy
Content notes: Racism, discrimination, and discussions of invisible disabilities
The book cover features the title "Allies: Real Talk About Showing Up, Screwing Up, and Trying Again" in bold, colourful letters against a white background. The names of the editors, Shakirah Bourne and Dana Alison Levy, are displayed below the title. The design is clean and modern, reflecting the book's focus on contemporary issues of allyship.
Owning It: Our Disabled Childhoods… In Our Own Words Edited by Jen Campbell, James and Lucy Catchpole
Content notes: Medical experiences, exclusion, stereotypes, discrimination.
The cover bursts with bright, multicoloured abstract shapes—swirling florals, dots, and organic patterns—that frame the title. Typography is clear and whimsical, giving the cover a joyful and inclusive feel.
22 autobiographical stories by disabled writers recounting their childhood experiences. It’s described as “honest, hopeful, hilarious and heartwarming,” offering both representation for disabled youth and empathy-building insight for non-disabled readers.
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century
Edited by Alice Wong
Content notes: Ableism, chronic illness, mental health, trauma, medical procedures, death, and violence.
The book cover displays a series of overlapping triangles in vibrant colors against an off-white background. The title, Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century, is prominently displayed in bold black letters, with "Edited by Alice Wong" beneath. The design is modern and eye-catching.
Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care and Desire Edited By Alice Wong
Content notes: Love, sexual content, ableism, desire
The cover of Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire has a light beige background with a colorful floral arrangement. A red, purple, and orange flower with green leaves are at the top. The bold black title overlays the design, with Edited by Alice Wong below, reflecting themes of love, care, and connection.
Fiction
The Words in my Hands By Asphyxia
Content notes: Audism, food scarcity, environmental collapse, political corruption.
The book cover showcases a stylized illustration of a young woman with dark hair, holding a paintbrush, set against a backdrop of abstract, colorful designs. The title, The Words in My Hands, is displayed prominently in bold letters, with the author's name, Asphyxia, below. The artistic elements reflect the protagonist's journey and the novel's themes of self-expression and identity.
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa (Translated by Polly Barton)
Content notes: Disability, queerness, and intimacy. Themes of bodily difference, desire, and social alienation. Readers may encounter ableism, internalized shame.
The book cover of Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa features a solitary, hunched figure rendered in soft, textured lines. The muted colour palette—mainly greys, beiges and oranges—evokes a somber, introspective mood. The title appears in subtle, minimalist text.
The Black Book of Color by Menena Cottin
The cover of The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin is entirely black, with subtle, raised illustrations of leaves and the title in both print and Braille. The visual design emphasizes texture over colour, inviting multisensory engagement.
Non-Fiction
Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation
By Hannah Gadsby
Content notes: Assault, molestation, rape, injury, isolation, suicidal ideation, body image issues, and mental health challenges.
The book cover features black and white photo portrait Hannah Gadsby. The title is prominently displayed in bold, uppercase letters, with the subtitle "A Memoir Situation" in smaller font beneath it.
Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body
By Rebekah Taussig
Content notes: Ableism, workplace discrimination, alcohol use, pregnancy and fertility, having a parent with chronic kidney disease, paralysis, and childhood cancer.
The book cover has an orange background with a woman in a wheelchair wearing a yellow shirt. She looks relaxed and confident. "Sitting Pretty" is written in large, white, hand-painted letters, with the subtitle and author’s name in smaller black text. The design is bright and engaging, reflecting the book’s themes.
Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Care
By Eli Clare
Content notes: Ableism, abuses of power, child sexual abuse, discussions of racism and fatphobia, and references to surgery.
The cover of Brilliant Imperfection features smooth river stones in earthy tones, with a single green stone standing out. The title is in green and white, with "Brilliant" in green. Below, the subtitle "Grappling with Cure" appears in white uppercase letters, and the author's name is in bold white text. The design highlights contrast, diversity, and natural imperfection.
Nishga By Jordan Abel
Content notes: Intergenerational trauma, colonial violence, residential schools, cultural loss, racism, suicidal thoughts, and mental health challenges.
The book cover resemebles a collage like precarious pile of six rocks. Title and author name prominent at top and bottom in uppercase.
Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance by Jesse Wente
Content notes: Genocide, colonization, racism, grief, physical abuse, sexual violence, and police brutality
The cover of "Unreconciled" features a minimalist design with a solid background. The title "Unreconciled" is prominently displayed in bold, uppercase letters at the center, with the subtitle "Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance" in smaller font beneath it. The author's name, Jesse Wente, appears below the subtitle.
The Body Is Not and Apology The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
Content notes: Fatphobia, body shaming, ableism, homophobia, racism, religious shaming, transphobia, and mentions of suicide
The book cover feature a Sonya Renee Taylor laying on purple, green pink butterfly wing bedding. She looks directly at the camera, nipples coverer by purple flowers. Text: The Body Is Not and Apology The Power of Radical Self-Love
It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finshed by Kate Gies
Content notes: Medical dismissal, body image, disordered eating, audism, gaslighting.
The book cover features pink, red and purle hues of an illustrated profile of a woman. An muted cream and green flower is front and center where an ear would be. The title ‘It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished” featured prominently in white cursive.
What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon
Content notes: Anti-fat bias, systemic fatphobia, medical and cultural harms. Topics include weight stigma, discrimination, and body autonomy.
The cover of What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon uses bold, all-cpas typography in white over a red background. The design is text-only and striking, conveying urgency and clarity. The author’s name appears at the bottom in smaller type, in black.
Crip Kinship: The Disability Justice & Art Activism of Sins Invalid By Shayda Kafai
Contnet notes: Ableism, medical trauma, racism, terminal illness, transphobia, and sexual assault.
The book cover features a light blue background adorned with colourful illustrations of butterflies, flowers, and a domestic scene. In the lower right center, a black figure wearing a flowing dress holds a curved walking stick. Behind them is a drawing of a room with a table, chair, pink wall with a window, and a blank wall with an orange picture.
Year of the Tiger: An Activists Life By Alice Wong
Content notes: Ableism, medical content, genocide, death, and body shaming
The cover of Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life has a bold marigold yellow background. A red tiger, styled like a Chinese paper cutting, crouches on the right, baring its teeth with claws extended. The title appears in large black text on the left, with the author’s name, Alice Wong, below. Red flowers are scattered throughout, enhancing the vibrant design.
Care Of: Letters, Connections and Cures By Ivan Coyote
Content notes: addiction, alcoholism, chronic illness, homophobia, transphobia, dementia, death of a parent, dysphoria, and pandemic-related experiences
The book cover are vibrant blue background dotted with water droplets. The title and author name are prominently displayed in bold, uppercase letters.
How to Raise An Antiracist By Ibram X Kendi
Content notes: Racism, systemic discrimination, bias and discussions of historical and contemporary racial injustices.
The cover of "How to Raise an Antiracist" features a clean white background with the title prominently displayed in bold, multicoloured letters. The words "How to Raise" are stacked atop "an Antiracist," creating a visually striking effect. The author's name, Ibram X. Kendi, appears below the title in black font.
Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasihna
Content notes: Ableism, suicide, abuse, child sexual assault, police brutality, sexual violence, trauma, and medical dismissal.
The cover of "Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice" features a detailed illustration of a brown figure embracing a complex root system, symbolizing interconnectedness and support. The title appears above the illustration in bold, uppercase letters, with the author's name, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, below.
I Don't Do Disability. And Other Lies I've Told Myself by Adelle Purdham
Content notes: Ableism, medical ableism, gaslighting.
The book cover features blue background with light blue nature themes graphics of various leaf shapes, a horse, mushrooms, rain drops and a waterfowl. Text is bright yellow reads: I don't do disability. And other Lies I've told myself. Adelle Purdham
We Are The Scrappy Ones by Rebekah Taussig
Content notes: No clincial labels - just celebration of difference, belonging and pride.
The cover of We Are the Scrappy Ones are six diverse children float across a starry blue sky, forming a loose, playful circle. Their expressions and postures convey joy, inclusion, and unity. Handwritten gold text adds warmth and energy.
A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome. A memoir. By Ariel Henley
Content notes: Medical content, discussions of bullying, ableism, medical trauma, and mentions of eating disorders.
The book cover features a stylized illustration of a woman’s face with abstract, Picasso-like lines in pink and red. The title, A Face for Picasso, appears in bold white letters, with the subtitle and author’s name below. The design reflects themes of identity and beauty.
