20 empowering books & films to celebrate Disability Pride Month

“But you’re so young. You look so healthy. I hope you feel better soon.”

After being diagnosed with a chronic illness five years ago, these are all things I’ve grown used to hearing. We have a standard idea of what disability looks like, as well as a general mentality that disability is something you can and should “overcome”—a mentality driven in large part, I think, by fear and misconception.

Earlier this year, the CDC reported that roughly 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. have some type of disability. This is not an insignificant portion of the population; you almost certainly know someone who is disabled, assuming you aren’t disabled yourself. And I’m sure this person—or people—you know is a lovely, vibrant, multi-faceted human who is disabled and.

I am a librarian. A friend. A plant-lover. A pop star—but only when I’m in the shower. And I’m disabled. My disability is part of me, even when no one can see it, and it impacts every aspect of my life. But it’s not all of me.

So for Disability Pride Month, I hope you’ll celebrate all the parts—the messy and vulnerable, the joyful and triumphant, the resilient and beautiful.

Films

Kanopy has an entire collection of must-see movie recommendations for Disability Pride Month, including such award-winners as CODA, but here are a few more I’ve added to my personal watch list.

Drunk on Too Much Life
Run Time: 1hr 16min

This documentary from 2021 follows 21-year-old Corrina—the daughter of the filmmaker—on her mental health journey to better understand psychosis and alternate realities. From psych wards and medications to peer support and community-based healing, Drunk on Too Much Life challenges us to reframe our understanding of mental illness and mental health.

My Beautiful Stutter
Run Time: 1hr 28min

Following five kids from across the United States who stutter, this 2020 documentary presents the transformation they all undergo after attending a New York City-based interactive arts program, The Stuttering Association for the Young, and experiencing the revolutionary idea at its heart: that it’s okay to stutter.

Our Dementia Choir
Run Time: 1hr 56min

In this two-part 2019 documentary from the BBC, actor Vicky McClure returns home to Nottingham to form a choir made up entirely of people with dementia. Motivated by her grandmother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, as well as her belief that music heals, McClure’s initial efforts culminated in a performance in front of 2,000 people at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall.

Defiant Lives
Run Time: 1hr 24min

Tracing the global origins of the disability rights movement, this 2017 documentary utilizes interviews and archival footage to share the stories of activists who challenged stigmas and fought to reframe disability rights and access issues as social responsibilities.

The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic
Run Time: 1hr 26min

In this critically acclaimed Finnish romance, a blind and disabled man named Jaakko finds love with a woman named Sirpa whom he has never met in person. When Sirpa receives difficult news, Jaakko decides he must go to her, no matter the obstacles he will surely face.

Your Friend, Memphis
Run Time: 1hr 35min

After filmmaker David P. Zucker met Memphis DiAngelis while both were working as PAs on a film set, Zucker was immediately taken by Memphis’ passion and asked to make a short documentary about him. That chance meeting resulted in a yearslong project following Memphis, a young man with cerebral palsy, as he attempts to bridge the distance between the world’s expectations and his own aspirations.

Books & audiobooks

If you asked me for disability reading recommendations in person, I could go on for hours. Finding books I felt reflected my experience of the world became an obsession post-diagnosis. I’ve tried to restrain myself here to a selection of titles I love or that are currently on my TBR pile and available on the Libby app.

All of Us by Dr. Megan Pamela Ruth Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Jonathan Eden
🎧 Audiobook
Ages 3+

Part of the First Conversations picture book series, All of Us is meant to start conversations around disability between caregivers and very young readers. Along with providing a child-friendly understanding of the topic, this title includes questions to prompt discussion as well as a diverse representation of abilities within the illustrations. Caregivers will especially appreciate the backmatter, which includes definitions, terminology, advice for answering children’s questions, and more.

The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines by Mo Netz
🎧 Audiobook
Ages 9-13

This supernatural adventure by debut author Mo Netz is next up on my TBR, and I can’t wait to dive in! Eleven-year-old Jerusha (Jerry) Blum is used to rundown motels. Ever since her dad died, Jerry and her mom have bounced from one motel to the next, where Mom picks up housekeeping work—and Jerry can get around relatively easily in her wheelchair. But when they wind up at the Slumbering Giant, Jerry quickly realizes something is… different. And when her mom goes missing, Jerry must get to the bottom of things before it’s too late.

Aniana del Mar Jumps In by Jasminne Mendez
🎧 Audiobook
Ages 10-14

After 12-year-old Aniana (Ani) del Mar is diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and Mami decides this is clearly her punishment for her secret swimming lessons, Ani is forbidden from swimming—a decision that is physically and mentally difficult on Ani. As someone with arthritis, this emotional novel-in-verse really resonated with me.

The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow
🎧 Audiobook
Ages 10-14

Twelve-year-old Al Schneider just wants to be a brain in a jar connected to a supercomputer. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about the two biggest secrets in her life: 1. Her stomach hurts all the time. 2. She’s 100% sure she likes girls. Since she can’t be a brain in a jar, she holds it all in… until she can’t. After a near accident of the lavatorial variety leads to a Crohn’s diagnosis, Al must learn to adapt to her diagnosis while dealing with a lot of complicated emotions.

Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino
🎧 Audiobook
Ages 12+

The Summer I Turned Pretty meets CODA in this YA debut about first love and Deaf pride at summer camp. Lilah is stuck in the middle. At least, that’s what hearing loss feels like sometimes—when you’re not “deaf enough” to identify as Deaf or “hearing enough” to meet the world’s expectations. So when Lilah signs up to be a counselor at a summer camp for the Deaf and blind, her plan is to brush up on ASL. Except what she finds is a community—and possibly love.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
🎧 Audiobook

After a near-death experience puts her boring daily routine into perspective, chronically-ill Chloe Brown creates a list of ways to change her life—starting with moving out of her family’s home and into her own apartment. She immediately clashes with her gorgeous, grumpy building superintendent, Redford “Red” Morgan. But soon sparks are flying, as Red and Chloe both challenge each other to step outside of their comfort zones.

I’ve always devoured romances, and this was the first book I ever read with chronic illness rep, so it holds a special place in my heart. But I would highly recommend it—along with the two sequels about Chloe’s sisters—to anyone who loves a modern romcom.

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
🎧 Audiobook

From queen of speculative fiction Nnedi Okorafor comes a new metafiction title that explores what it means to be human. Disabled Nigerian American writer Zelu has just lost her job and received yet another publisher rejection letter. With her life completely upended, she decides to write something just for herself, a far-future epic where androids and AI wage war in the ruins of human civilization. What she doesn’t expect is that this will be the book that finally propels her to fame—or that this sudden success might not be all it’s cracked up to be.

The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth
🎧 Audiobook

Hired to investigate a string of murders in the Occult town of Wrackton, a group of 20-something witches and the ghost from their first—still unsolved—case must successfully track a serial killer before it’s too late. The story is told from the perspective of Mallory, a forensic science expert who was recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

This is the first in a series, with the third title released last September, so fans of quippy mysteries will have plenty of new stories to devour.

The Boys of Riverside by Thomas Fuller
🎧 Audiobook

Following the historic 2021 and 2022 seasons of the California School for the Deaf’s football team, The Boys of Riverside tells the story of a group of underestimated student athletes who would go on to win three consecutive championships. New York Times reporter Fuller deeply immersed himself within the team’s community during the 2022 season, and the result is an emotionally resonant story of camaraderie, perseverance, and triumph.

The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland
🎧 Audiobook

As a teenager, journalist and podcaster Andrew Leland was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition that will eventually leave him blind. Roughly 20 years later, Leland penned this memoir, an exploration of the liminal spaces—between perception and reality, ability and disability, impairment and “neutral characteristic”—in which he exists as well as an investigation of the history and culture surrounding blindness.

I’ll Look So Hot in a Coffin by Carla Sosenko
🎧 Audiobook

Born with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, a vascular disorder that resulted in a variety of limb and body malformations, journalist Carla Sosenko has spent her entire life wrestling with self-image, mental health, and a feeling of otherness. While Sosenko doesn’t consider herself disabled, the experiences she shares in this funny, vulnerable memoir are sure to resonate with readers who are.

Disability Intimacy by Alice Wong
🎧 Audiobook

In this follow up to her 2020 anthology Disability Visibility, activist and writer Alice Wong shares a collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of disabled intimacy. From care work to sexual discovery, these deeply personal stories celebrate the spectrum of intimacy that exists beyond societal—often ableist—expectations, as well as the many ways in which sexual liberation intersects with disability justice.

The Anti-Ableist Manifesto by Tiffany Yu
🎧 Audiobook

In her first book, disability rights activist and entrepreneur Tiffany Yu, takes on the question of how to build an inclusive, accessible world. Adapted from her TikTok video series focused on allyship and interweaving her own disability experience, The Anti-Ableist Manifesto shares terminology, discussions on cultivating an anti-ableist mindset, and proactive strategies for allies and activists.

Against Technoableism by Ashley Shew
🎧 Audiobook

After bioethicist and professor Ashley Shew became a self-described “hard-of-hearing chemobrained amputee with Crohn’s disease and tinnitus,” well-meaning people began calling her an “inspiration” for accomplishing everyday tasks and viewing her as helpless. In Against Technoableism, Shew tackles this conception of disability head-on, asking readers to reconsider the assumption that disability is a problem in need of solving and instead consider a social model of disability wherein we address the structures that exclude disabled people. Part memoir, part manifesto, this is essential reading for anyone delving into disability justice.

*Access to books & films may vary.

RELATED READ: Representing all of us: 12 books featuring characters or authors with disabilities