An invaluable, eye-opening look at disability from a firsthand perspective.
An invaluable, eye-opening look at disability from a firsthand perspective.
04/27/2020
Taussig debuts with a pull-no-punches memoir about life in a wheelchair. She insists up front that she doesn’t speak for everyone with a disability (“I would be doing us all a great disservice if I led you to believe that the conversation starts and ends with bodies and experiences that look just like mine”) and provides a frank look into her life with “a body that doesn’t work,” one that she’s lived in since surviving an aggressive cancer as a 14-month-old. She analyzes sex and disabilities; her marriage to her first husband, which came about only because she was afraid it would be her only chance (she eventually found love with her second husband); unintentional ableism; online dating; and what she sees as the disempowering message from Hollywood that characters with disabilities are “always longing for a ‘whole' body through a fantasy sequence.” Taussig’s refreshing, matter-of-fact tone makes it clear that she’s not asking anyone to feel sorry for her; rather, she’s asking for just the opposite—to not be defined by her wheelchair. Her smart and witty observations about living with disabilities will be enlightening and eye-opening for readers. (Aug.)
"Rebekah writes in a way that is somehow both world-shakingly profound and beautifully intimate. Her voice is unforgettable in its power to make you feel, question, learn, and grow. There aren't words for how much the world needs this book." — Megan Jayne Crabbe, bestselling author of Body Positive Power
“A disability advocate debuts with a collection offering potent rejoinders to ableism…..A fierce and fabulous revision to entrenched ableist scripts.” — Kirkus Reviews [Starred Review]
"Sitting Pretty is the book I needed years ago as I grappled with my sense of self and my identity as a disabled woman. I put it down while reading only long enough to collect myself each time waves of emotion crashed over me. Rebekah's spunky, self-aware wit, combined with education that never feels didactic, make this book a worthwhile and rewarding read." — Emily Ladau, writer, speaker, and disability rights activist
"Rebekah Taussig's writing is a gift that keeps giving. Her voice is honest, vulnerable and welcoming...It was a joy to read and listen to Rebekah's words. This beautiful book helped me ask questions, open my heart, and remind me to look more closely at the world around me and what small part we can all have in making it a better, more accessible one." — Grace Bonney, founder of Design*Sponge and author of In the Company of Women
"A compelling personal book whose confidential voice leads the reader into the author’s vividly lived world of disability. Smart and funny, [Sitting Pretty] does double duty revealing not only the intimate life of a disabled woman but the flaws of the world around her that seeks to repress and contain her." — Lennard J. Davis, Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of Enforcing Normalcy and My Sense of Silence: Memoirs of a Childhood with Deafness
“An invaluable, eye-opening look at disability from a firsthand perspective.” — Booklist
“Her smart and witty observations about living with disabilities will be enlightening and eye-opening for readers.” — Publishers Weekly
“Reflecting on her journey toward disability advocacy, Rebekah Taussig's memoir in essays will make you rethink everything you've previously believed about disabled people and their lives. Reflecting on Taussig's personal experiences, and on disability representation more broadly, Sitting Pretty is a rare book from a powerful, new voice.” — Bustle
"A groundbreaking and candid memoir" — Shelf Awareness
“Taussig’s narrative style is highly conversational, making it feel like one is chatting with a lifelong friend. Her ability to bring levity to a topic some may find taboo is certain to help spread her message of acceptance and love.” — Library Journal (starred review)
Reflecting on her journey toward disability advocacy, Rebekah Taussig's memoir in essays will make you rethink everything you've previously believed about disabled people and their lives. Reflecting on Taussig's personal experiences, and on disability representation more broadly, Sitting Pretty is a rare book from a powerful, new voice.”
"A groundbreaking and candid memoir"
"Rebekah Taussig's writing is a gift that keeps giving. Her voice is honest, vulnerable and welcoming...It was a joy to read and listen to Rebekah's words. This beautiful book helped me ask questions, open my heart, and remind me to look more closely at the world around me and what small part we can all have in making it a better, more accessible one."
"Rebekah writes in a way that is somehow both world-shakingly profound and beautifully intimate. Her voice is unforgettable in its power to make you feel, question, learn, and grow. There aren't words for how much the world needs this book."
"A compelling personal book whose confidential voice leads the reader into the author’s vividly lived world of disability. Smart and funny, [Sitting Pretty] does double duty revealing not only the intimate life of a disabled woman but the flaws of the world around her that seeks to repress and contain her."
★ 08/01/2020
Disability is often seen by the able-bodied population as something to be fixed, something to be pitied. With Taussig's memoir, readers are given a different perspective—one of someone seeking to bring awareness and education to the world around her. Taussig, with both a PhD in disability studies and the lived experience of having a disability herself, is able to meet readers where they are, whether they are disabled themselves or are curious to learn. However, Taussig states up front that she is not representative of all disabled people and that this book is not exhaustive. Rather, it is a personal account, and one that is organized as a book of essays, each a vignette of an experience where disability informed Taussig's experiences: her romantic relationship with an able-bodied person, teaching an experimental disability theory class for high schoolers, discussing her life experiences with her family, and more. VERDICT Taussig's narrative style is highly conversational, making it feel like one is chatting with a lifelong friend. Her ability to bring levity to a topic some may find taboo is certain to help spread her message of acceptance and love.—Ahliah Bratzler, Indianapolis P.L.
★ 2020-05-14
A disability advocate debuts with a collection offering potent rejoinders to ableism.
Tracing memories from childhood to the present, Taussig, who has a doctorate in disability studies, explores her life story and relationship with her body as well as attendant concerns of confidence, belief, and hope. Even though she grew up “after the passage of the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act,” the author, who was paralyzed at age 3 following a lengthy, deleterious cancer-treatment regimen, faced many difficult situations related to her disability, from confronting lowered expectations at a youth camp to navigating awkward moments with friends and acquaintances. She investigates what accessibility really means and how it relates to housing, employment, and health care—“The older I got,” she writes, “the more I cringed at the bills my body created”—and she looks at dating challenges and the difference between finding marriage and finding love, exposing many of the mechanics behind traditional social scripts. Constantly questioning the damaging illogic of nonaccessible public spaces, Taussig confronts the insidious nature of “stigma, isolation, erasure, misunderstanding, skepticism, and ubiquitous inaccessibility.” Introducing many key themes of disability studies throughout the narrative, the author pushes for nuanced awareness and understanding of fluid rather than fixed needs, essential for a more effective intersectional approach to social solutions. Taussig goes beyond empty inspirational jargon, forcing readers to consider the value of the real-world improvements that can emerge from centering underrepresented voices. An engaging, up-close view of the need for structural change regarding disabilities in this country, the text is a solid combination of theory and personal experience. “We should bring disabled perspectives to the center,” she writes, “because such perspectives create a world that is more imaginative, more flexible, more sustainable, more dynamic and vibrant for everyone who lives in a body.”
A fierce and fabulous revision to entrenched ableist scripts.
