My journey to accept my body and disability has not been simple or straight. How does one learn to accept what one cannot change? How does one unfold? When rheumatoid arthritis invaded my life as a child, much of my self-esteem disappeared. My hands are always hidden in old photographs, …
A New Tomorrow. Thank You Covid-19
A few weeks ago, I had a good old rant on Facebook bemoaning all the buzzwords that I would prefer never to see again. Buzzword terms like unpack, disrupt, power couple, finger-on-the-pulse, go-getters. The list is inexhaustible. Not long after my posting this on social media, my sister gave me …
We Need To Stop Demonizing Relaxation
We live in times when there is so much pressure to hustle. To be doing, doing, doing; being constantly productive, striving for more, being better. Disabled people in particular – who may have been excluded from traditional employment due to barriers both in accessibility and in attitudes – have been …
Twitter’s Powerful Disabled People
This Covid-19 has all of us looking for information and for people to interact with or follow on social media. Twitter has amazing disabled advocates who are humble, full of audacity, information and passion. There is so much pettiness in the world. The disabled community needs people who know how …
Disabled and Healthy
Disable AND healthy.I already know what you’re thinking… It seems like a contradiction. I know what question is going through your mind right now. How the heck can I be disabled AND healthy? I used to think the same exact thing. For many, MANY years. The answer finally came to …
Saving Our Own Lives Again
We are all dealing with a lot of fear right now as news about the fast spread of COVID-19 reach our communities and change the landscape of our daily interactions, and the way we operate socially and physically. It almost seems like, from one minute to the next, a threat …
Disabled Voters, Choose Your Presidential Candidate!
“If you have a disability, you’re an activist. Sorry.” At a recent workshop on productivity culture in downtown Boston, facilitator and chronic illness advocate Karolina Chorvath made me do a double-take. Her co-facilitator and founder of Hourglass Boston, Nicole Fichera, emphasized that capitalistic work cultures make everyone sick, not just …
Yes, Please Define Me by My Disability
If you grew up as a child with a disability in the ‘80s and ‘90s, you heard this phrase at least once: “I am not defined by my disability!” It was usually spoken by some well-meaning advocate promoting equality. You see, in the ‘80s and ‘90s we preserved the self-esteem …
Why Disabled Women Haven’t Joined the “Me too” Movement
The “Me too” movement sparked a wave of revelation and liberation for women around the world. It gave women a voice to free the voice they had kept quiet for so long, sometimes an entire lifetime. When women say “Me too”, they say it knowing they’re not alone. They do …