5 Disability-Specific Books To Look Forward To Right Now
A Representative Culture Guide For Your Inbox
I’m very excited for this week. As you read this, I’ll be on my way to visit my friend and her 2 very small children - a sort of holiday for me, and time off (in a way, partly), for her. On Friday I’ll be attending the Unhidden fashion show! Fashion week starts on Friday - and I am so excited to be covering this as part of an assignment.
Which reminds me….. if you like the free updates from this newsletter, there’s now a new way you can support The Disabled Feminist Newsletter. You can buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi! It’s £1 and will support me in continuing on with the free version of this newsletter.
See you next week!
Out Now!
My debut book, The Autism Friendly Cookbook, is out now! And this is what people are saying about it….
Natasha Lipman, journalist and host of The Rest Room podcast: “The Autism Friendly Cookbook is a striking manifesto on the importance of accessibility in cooking. With adaptations front and centre, this book from Lydia Wilkins is sure to become a kitchen staple.”
Steve Silberman, author of NeuroTribes:The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity: “Cooking is one of the foundations of independent living. This charming, inviting book is designed to make this basic life-skill accessible to everyone. It's not just a collection of tantalizing recipes, it's a celebration of autistic community.”
Chloe Johnson, editor at Disability Review Magazine: “A delightful guide full of important information for neurodivergent foodies - we've needed this for years!”
Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of conversation - especially on Twitter - about books and representation. Dr Hannah Banharm-Brown, former deputy leader of the Women’s Equality Party, had a whole thread about books around disability, to create a specific section in Waterstones - and one without the terrible title of ‘Ailments’. (Yuck.)
This week is half term - and rather than wang on for an extended period of time, I thought I’d leave 5 disability-specific recommendations of upcoming books in your inbox. This includes Neurodivergent writers - the UK’s Equality Act says conditions such as Autism are disabilities - and those that have yet to be available for pre-order, too.
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Besides… when it came to a holiday out of school hours, one of my parents use to buy us a book or two to keep us occupied, especially in the 6 weeks holiday every July. (And it was great! Note: I am always accepting of books - if you’d like to keep me in books, you could consider taking out a pair-for subscription of this very newsletter…)
The Autistic Guide To Adventure By Allie Mason
This one I am slightly biased about, as I assisted the author behind the scenes. Allie Mason is a debut children’s writer; this book has been written to make the world of sport accessible to Autistic individuals, and is illustrated by Ella Willis. I think this is a great concept - and I have a cover quote on the book, for the first time, too!
The Autistic Guide To Adventure is out on March 21st. (This link is an affiliate link - if you purchase through it I will receive a small commission.)
The View From Down Here By Lucy Webster
When it comes to Substack, there aren’t that many other newsletters I subscribe to - just because my inbox can sometimes get very overwhelming, very quickly. Lucy Webster writes The View From Down Here - an anti-ableism newsletter. And the memoir of the same name will be out later this year.
The View From Down Here is due out on 7th September. (This link is an affiliate link - if you purchase through it I will receive a small commission.)
Who Wants Normal? By Frances Ryan
Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist who wrote the brilliant book called Crippled; this lifts the lid on what it is like to be disabled in the UK, and how life has been like for some of us for the last few year. Who Wants Normal? is something ion a follow up - and interviews women in looking at disability and feminism, too.
Who Wants Normal? is due for release in 2025.
The Success Myth By Emma Gannon
Emma Gannon is perhaps best known as the podcast host of Ctrl Alt Delete, which has now come to an end after all this time. On her Substack newsletter she wrote about her Dyslexia, which I found to be just absolutely fascinating - and her next book, The Success Myth, is coming soon. Just what I’m after…
The Success Myth is out on May 23rd. (This link is an affiliate link - if you purchase through it I will receive a small commission.)
The Disability Intimacy Anthology By Alice Wong
Alice Wong is a favourite writer of mine; I absolutely adored her memoir Year Of The Tiger, simply because it was so utterly inspiring. According to her website, her next book is a book about disability and intimacy. This is so rarely talked about - and there is a lot of ignorance around this topic, too. I can’t wait to read this.
The Disability Intimacy Anthology is out in 2023 or 2024.
Autism & Chronic Illness By Charli Clement
There is something of a floor in the medical system, in that so very often conditions are not treated together, but separately, when arguably they need at times to be considered in tandem with each other. Charli Clement is an activist who has looked at Autism and Chronic Illness together - which I think is just a great idea.
This book has not yet been assigned a release date, making it likely to be out next year.
What’s on your reading list? x
The Catch Up
Bad news I’m afraid, UK friends - stuff is once again happening with the benefits system, and it ain’t pretty.
I’ll be on CBC Radio at 10pm GMT talking about my book on the 20th of this month!