Disability Pride: Books for Adults

July is Disability Pride Month and to celebrate we are highlighting books from disabled writers, artists, and activists who have fought to create a more open, inclusive, and beautiful world. Find our list of creative works in literature, memoir, and history here.

Updated July 17, 2025
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LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Happy Valley Library
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Disability pride : dispatches from a post-ADA world
Mattlin, Ben
Paper Book
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...
Disability intimacy : essays on love, care, and desire
Wong, Alice
Paper Book
The much-anticipated follow up to the groundbreaking anthology Disability Visibility- another revolutionary collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience, and intimacy in all its myriad forms. What is intimacy? More than...
Sipping Dom Pérignon through a straw : reimagining success as a disabled achiever
Ndopu, Eddie
Paper Book
Apple's Best Books of August 2023 A memoir penned with one good finger, Ndopu writes about being profoundly disabled and profoundly successful.   Global humanitarian Eddie Ndopu was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare...
Life on delay : making peace with a stutter
Hendrickson, John (Atlantic senior editor)
Paper Book
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * USA TODAY BOOK CLUB PICK * ONE OF AUDIBLE'S BEST BIOS AND MEMOIRS OF 2023 * "A raw, intimate look at [Hendrickson's] life with a stutter. It's a profoundly moving book that will reshape the way you think about people living with this...
Leg : the story of a limb and the boy who grew from it : a memoir
Marshall, Greg (Essayist)
Paper Book
* A 2024 LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST * *Washington Post's 50 Best Nonfiction of 2023 * NPR's Books We Love 2023 * * A New and Noteworthy Memoir of 2023 Selected by * Washington Post * USA Today * ...
Soundtrack of silence : love, loss, and a playlist for life
Hay, Matt
Paper Book
An inspiring memoir of a young man who discovered he was going completely deaf just at the moment he'd fallen in love for the first time. As a child, Matt Hay didn't know his hearing wasn't the way everyone else processed sound--because of the workarounds he did to fit in...
How lucky : a novel
Leitch, Will
Paper Book
2022 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel "A fantastic novel. . . . You are going to like this a lot."--Stephen King "What's more thrilling than a fictional character speaking to us in a voice we haven't heard before, a voice so authentic and immediate--think Huck Finn, Holden...
Everything is possible : finding the faith and courage to follow your dreams
Bricker, Jen
Paper Book
Born without Legs, She Inspires Others to Overcome Jen Bricker was born without legs. Shocked and uncertain they could care for her, her biological parents gave her up for adoption. In her loving adoptive home, there was just one simple rule: "Never say 'can't.'" And pretty soon, there...
The complete guide to getting a job for people with Asperger's syndrome : find the right career and get hired
Bissonnette, Barbara A.
Paper Book
Finding a job is a confusing and anxiety-provoking process for many individuals with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) who may not know what they are qualified to do and may struggle to communicate their value to employers. In this book, Asperger's employment expert Barbara Bissonnette describes exactly...
How the one-armed sister sweeps her house : a novel
Jones, Cherie
Paper Book
In the tradition of Zadie Smith and Marlon James, a debut novel, set in Barbados, about four people confronting violence and love in a beachfront "paradise" In Baxter's Beach, Barbados, Lala's grandmother Wilma tells the story of the one-armed sister, a cautionary tale about what happens...
Deaf utopia : a memoir-- and a love letter to a way of life
DiMarco, Nyle
Paper Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE CO-DIRECTOR OF DEAF PRESIDENT NOW! A heartfelt and inspiring memoir and celebration of Deaf culture by Nyle DiMarco. Actor, producer, two-time reality show winner, and now co-director of the acclaimed film Deaf President Now!, DiMarco both shares his...
Golem girl : a memoir
Lehrer, Riva
Paper Book
The vividly told, gloriously illustrated memoir of an artist born with disabilities who searches for freedom and connection in a society afraid of strange bodies "Golem Girl is luminous; a profound portrait of the artist as a young--and mature--woman; an...
Visual thinking : the hidden gifts of people who think in pictures, patterns, and abstractions
Grandin, Temple
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE NAUTILUS GOLD AWARD "A powerful and provocative testament to the diverse coalition of minds we'll need to face the mounting challenges of the twenty-first century." --Steve Silberman "An absolute eye...
The sign for home : a novel
Fell, Blair
Paper Book
Longlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize When a young DeafBlind man learns the girl he thought was lost forever might still be out there, he embarks on a life-changing journey to find her--and his freedom. Arlo Dilly is young, handsome, and...
The country of the blind : a memoir at the end of sight
Leland, Andrew
Paper Book
We meet Andrew Leland as he's suspended in the liminal state of the soon-to-be blind: he's midway through his life with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that ushers those who live with it from sightedness to blindness over years, even decades. He grew up with full vision, but starting in his...
Demystifying disability : what to know, what to say, and how to be an ally
Ladau, Emily
Paper Book
An approachable guide to being a thoughtful, informed ally to disabled people, with actionable steps for what to say and do (and whatnotto do) andhow you can help make the world a more inclusive place ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR- NPR, Booklist . "A candid,...
Mean baby : a memoir of growing up
Blair, Selma
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * Selma Blair has played many roles: Ingenue in Cruel Intentions. Preppy ice queen in Legally Blonde. Muse to Karl Lagerfeld. Advocate for the multiple sclerosis community. But before all of that, Selma was known best as ... a mean baby. In a...
Year of the tiger : an activist's life
Wong, Alice
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER . ONE OF USA TODAY'S MUST-READ BOOKS . This groundbreaking memoir offers a glimpse into an activist's journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice, from the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project ...
The anti-ableist manifesto : smashing stereotypes, forging change, and building a disability-inclusive world
Yu, Tiffany
Paper Book
Tiffany Yu takes readers on a revelatory examination of disability--how to unpack biases and build an inclusive and accessible world. As the Asian American daughter of immigrants, living with PTSD, and sustaining a permanent arm injury at age nine, Tiffany Yu is...
The canary code : a guide to neurodiversity, dignity, and intersectional belonging at work
Praslova, Ludmila N.
Paper Book
Featured on the 2024 Top 10 Best New Management Books list by Thinkers50, the global authority on management thinking. "Exclusion robs people of opportunities, and it robs organizations of talent. In the long run, exclusionary systems are lose-lose." How do we build win...

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