Growing Up Disabled in Australia by Carly Findlay | Black Inc.

Growing Up Disabled in Australia

Edited by

Carly Findlay

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About the editor

Carly Findlay

Carly Findlay OAM is a writer, speaker and appearance activist. She is the author of memoir Say Hello and the editor of Growing Up Disabled in Australia. She has been published in the ABC, The Guardian, The Age, …

More about Carly Findlay



Read an extract

Growing Up Disabled in Australia

Praise for Growing Up Disabled in Australia

‘The anthology is an unparalleled example of disabled people carving out a piece of the world to share their experiences, and to make their mark and their voices heard.’ —Chloe Sargeant, Junkee

‘And that’s the twin power of this book: not only is it creating a sense of community for disabled people, it’s creating better allies.’ —Belinda Jepsen, Mamamia

‘Grips the reader by the collar while pulling the rug out from under their feet. Like all good writing, these pieces not only put us in the writers’ shoes but up-end our ideas about where the disability lies.’ —Fiona Capp, The Sydney Morning Herald

‘A vivid collection that is a question in itself. It asks readers if they are willing to understand that disabled bodies are neither deficient nor a burden, but rather creative, capable and resilient.’ —Jessica White, The Saturday Paper

‘The book provides a social history of disability in Australia, and has fascinating stories on the realities of surviving a world that demands the disabled adapt to the “normal” – a euphemism for the abled.’ —Michael Jongen, Newtown Review of Books

‘The forty-seven contributors share their unique stories with honesty and humour, giving readers an insight into their experiences … These stories stayed with me long after reading them.’ —Christine Shamista, Kill Your Darlings

‘With vulnerability, passion, kindness, anger, eloquence, and without serving up trauma for convenient consumption, this book defies the myth that there is a single way to be disabled.’ —Feminist Writers Festival

‘This is ultimately a joyful collection of stories that serve as different models of self-acceptance. The anthology highlights the multiplicity of ways we can perceive disability. Narrators come to know themselves (as Andy Jackson puts beautifully, ‘I am standing as upright as I can, but this skeleton’s version of normal is cursive’), and reject the discriminatory, limiting, and invalidating stories projected on to them in order to find their own language, and a community. This anthology is vital.’ —Erin Stewart, ArtsHub

‘Each lived experience is totally compelling and unique, it really is a book that hits on so many levels.’ —Bob Evans, musician

Teachers' Resources

Themes

Identity and ownership of narrative voice, evolving social consciousness, language, self-acceptance,

Reading age

Suitable for Grade 9 and above

Downloads

  Teaching notes


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