Disability Pride: Dispatches from a Post-ADA World

by Ben Mattlin Narrated by Anthony Michael Lopez

Overview

An eye-opening portrait of the diverse disability community as it is today, and how disability attitudes, activism, and representation have evolved since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

In Disability Pride, disabled journalist Ben Mattlin weaves together interviews and reportage to introduce a cavalcade of individuals, ideas, and events in engaging, fast-paced prose. He traces the generation that came of age after the ADA reshaped America, and how it is influencing the future. He documents how autistic self-advocacy and the neurodiversity movement upended views of those whose brains work differently. He lifts the veil on a thriving disability culture-from social media to high fashion, Hollywood to Broadway-showing how the politics of beauty for those with marginalized body types and facial features is sparking widespread change.

He also explores the movement's shortcomings, particularly the erasure of nonwhite and LGBTQIA+ people that helped give rise to Disability Justice. He delves into systemic ableism in health care, the right-to-die movement, institutionalization, and the scourge of subminimum-wage labor that some call legalized slavery. And he finds glimmers of hope in how disabled people never give up their fight for parity and fair play.

Beautifully written, without anger or pity, Disability Pride is a revealing account of an often misunderstood movement and identity, an inclusive reexamination of society's treatment of those it deems different.

Editorial Reviews

JANUARY 2023 - AudioFile

Anthony Michael Lopez smoothly presents this history of the disability rights movement and how it has progressed since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The work includes extensive research and interviews with members of the disability community. While the ADA was a landmark piece of legislation, Mattlin discusses many of the areas in which disabled people are still fighting for equal rights and access. The audiobook is well organized; each chapter captures listeners’ attention and clearly lays out the facts. While the level of detail could have been confusing for listeners, Lopez skillfully uses his voice to differentiate between the narrative, excerpts from documents, and quotes, helping listeners smoothly follow along. K.D.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

09/26/2022

Journalist Mattlin (In Sickness and in Health), who was born with spinal muscular atrophy, offers a celebratory account of disability rights activism since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. Highlighting both the vibrancy of the movement and its ongoing challenges, Mattlin discusses, among other matters, the “trend of high-profile disability inclusion” that helped put Sen. Tammy Duckworth on the short list to become Joe Biden’s running mate; the “unapologetic self-confidence” of young people with disabilities on Instagram and YouTube; and the importance of “authentic disabled role models” in helping children to overcome the notion that their disabilities “are personal traumas they and their families must cope with, rather than ordinary experiences.” Throughout, Mattlin shares his perspective as a lifelong wheelchair user, while acknowledging the limits of his experiences when it comes to the Black-led disability justice movement, the self-advocacy of autistic and neurodiverse people, and other developments. Profile subjects include Duckworth, Last Comic Standing winner Josh Blue, and dozens of disability rights activists involved in efforts to make medical offices more accessible and keep lower-income disabled people out of institutional care, among other causes. Upbeat and carefully researched, this valuable guide reveals current trends within the disability community. (Nov.)

From the Publisher

A celebratory account . . . Upbeat and carefully researched, this valuable guide reveals current trends within the disability community.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Illuminating portraits of disability activism with much to teach nondisabled readers.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“A sincere, thoughtful look at the advances made by the disabled community that deserve celebration and the improvements still to be made in all areas.”
—Kathleen McCallister, Library Journal

“A notable landmark examination…Disability Pride should take center place in any discussion of past, present, and future inclusive actions and perceptions of the disabled community as a whole.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Ben Mattlin’s stunning book Disability Pride marks a pivotal moment in the world of disability rights and in the lives of those who live in disabled bodies. Comprehensively researched and compulsively readable, Mattlin’s work tracks how far we’ve come in terms of accessibility and equity, and how far we have—still—to go.”
—Emily Rapp Black, author of The Still Point of the Turning World

“When discussing pride regarding our disabilities, Ben Mattlin gives the community a source of reflection, inclusion, inspiration, and, more importantly, a sense of belonging. The disability community is often marginalized and demonized for our mere existence—this book is an important step toward full inclusion and acceptance of what and who we are.”
—Keith P. Jones, president of SoulTouchin’ Experiences

“Passionate, deeply researched, and full of insight, Disability Pride probes the most profound legacy of the ADA: the ways that it forever transformed how disabled people feel about themselves, from passive recipients of charity to active agents in the transformation of society and leaders in a new kind of civil rights movement. A brilliantly written and timely book.”
—Steve Silberman, author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

“Ben Mattlin’s Disability Pride is a highly readable narrative of a post-ADA US, where those of us with disabilities have more visibility but whose stories, and lives, are still controlled by mainstream media, which still does not provide true authentic disability depictions.”
—Kenny Fries, author of In the Province of the Gods

“Ben Mattlin takes us on a brilliant tour of the post-ADA world. . . . Mattlin is clear-eyed about what he believes is needed: more. More laws, more inclusion, more understanding. Disability Pride is both a compelling travelogue and a much-needed rallying cry.”
—Adam Cohen, author of Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court’s Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America

“Ben Mattlin’s new book Disability Pride is a gorgeous, well done, and well-rounded report and perspective on disability justice and rights throughout American history—both objectively and through Mattlin’s lens. As someone who is Gen Z, I find it particularly poignant to learn about disability history and so many other different perspectives and lives in the disabled community through this book. Reading Disability Pride has been such a beautiful experience, and I’m so grateful for Mr. Mattlin and this incredible work.”
—Aaron Rose Philip, supermodel, social media influencer, and author of This Kid Can Fly

Library Journal

10/01/2022

The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed more than 30 years ago—and a lot has happened in that time. Journalist Mattlin (In Sickness and in Health), who lives with spinal muscular atrophy, states that this book began as a personal mission to reconnect with the wider disability community and understand the ways it's expanded and flourished in the years since the ADA. The resulting volume is both sobering and heartening. He touches on several topics that are painful (the continuing problem of enforced institutionalization) or controversial (the complex intersections of disability with assisted suicide). He also dedicates a large portion of the book to his observations of positives by highlighting the community's activists and self-advocates: models, actors, and comedians, policymakers and politicians, and people simply living their everyday lives. He acknowledges that their visibility and accomplishments, by no means, indicate the situation has reached true equality. It's a presentation that underscores one of the book's central points: full acceptance of people with disabilities in all spaces is critical and required. VERDICT A sincere, thoughtful look at the advances made by the disabled community that deserve celebration and the improvements still to be made in all areas.—Kathleen McCallister

JANUARY 2023 - AudioFile

Anthony Michael Lopez smoothly presents this history of the disability rights movement and how it has progressed since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The work includes extensive research and interviews with members of the disability community. While the ADA was a landmark piece of legislation, Mattlin discusses many of the areas in which disabled people are still fighting for equal rights and access. The audiobook is well organized; each chapter captures listeners’ attention and clearly lays out the facts. While the level of detail could have been confusing for listeners, Lopez skillfully uses his voice to differentiate between the narrative, excerpts from documents, and quotes, helping listeners smoothly follow along. K.D.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2022-09-10
A disabled journalist charts the progress his community has made since the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990, but he is clear that “we are not resting on our laurels.”

Born with spinal muscular atrophy, Mattlin offers unique insights into disabled people's fights for civil rights, the many faces of ableism, and the emergence of a spirit of disability pride. “The idea of disability has shifted from a medical signifier to an emblem of cultural identity,” writes the author, and he shows the links between the fight against disability oppression and the civil rights movement. He describes a move from "internalized ableism" and disability shame to the sense that, as one activist noted, "being disabled can be a positive experience." Mattlin illustrates the "trend of high-profile disability inclusion" with examples from the worlds of fashion, Hollywood, Broadway, and government, and he explains all five main "titles" of the ADA and follows the path of its many amendments and implications. Most significantly, the author expands the parameters of disability to include those with hidden disabilities, chronic illnesses, cognitive and intellectual disabilities, and autism spectrum disorders. He makes convincing arguments that “poverty is linked to high incidences of every disability type” and that White privilege is a continuing problem in mainstream disability circles. The author laments the flawed representations of disabilities in Greek myth, Shakespearean drama, and contemporary film and TV. "The only disability figures in the media were Captain Hook or villains in James Bond,” said a disabled male model whose "ruggedly" handsome face and "rippling" muscles prove that "disability doesn't have to be ugly,” as actor Jillian Mercado notes on her agency’s website. Mattlin cites relevant public personalities such as Ali Stroker, the first actor in a wheelchair to win a Tony Award. The author also describes "adaptive apparel" that meets the needs and tastes of disabled people and introduces some stand-up comedians living with disability, using humor as a tool of awareness.

Illuminating portraits of disability activism with much to teach nondisabled readers.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178764916
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	11/29/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged

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