For those who live with a hidden disability, such as chronic pain, depression, or a range of other conditions often misunderstood, downplayed, or even dismissed by others, this book offers practical suggestions for surviving rough times, coping with negative reactions, and dealing with employment issues, as well as strategies to manage pain, find a helpful therapist, rebuild self-esteem, and strengthen the body, mind, and soul.
This book contains 35 powerful essays from adults with autism, mental illnesses, fetal alchol spectrum disorders, OCD, ADHD, and other "invisible special needs" and those who love them. These poignant, funny, heartbreaking and honest stories let mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, lovers, husbands, wives, children and individuals with neurobehavioral disabilities themselves know that they are not alone, and that they somehow stop being important to the world when they reach adulthood. Finding that common powerful bond in a world of judgement and cruelty from those who don't understand, magically transforms the journey and makes it easier to cope. Instead of putting on appearances for others, adults with challenges and their loved ones can choose to connect with who they really are and accept their lives. "Easy To Love But Hard To Live With" is filled with poignant stories that inspire and empower. A great read for those living with a misunderstood partner, sibling, parent, child or other loved one."
Talking Splat: Communicating About Our Hidden Disabilities is for people with chronic illnesses, mental health diagnoses, and other invisible struggles. Our conditions are often a "moving target," meaning we never know how we're going to feel from one day to the next. The one certainty is that every day, we feel like we've been run over by something. Splat is an innovative way to communicate what that "something" is while also managing others' expectations, alleviating feelings of failure and guilt, assuring better self-care, and enabling us to establish actual routines ... at last! Written by a professional comedian and disabilities awareness trainer who lives with osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, Talking Splat is a fast, fun, inspiring read that, if you let it, will make your life worlds better and give you your own way to make the world better for us all.
Do your loved ones have a hard time understanding your chronic illness or pain, because to them you LOOK fine? But You LOOK Good is a book that gives those living with chronic illness and pain a voice about how they feel, what they need and how others can be an encouragement to them. It is a convenient, informative way to educate loved ones about what people living with ongoing illness and pain struggle with, fight for and need from their friends and family. It is easy to read, gives practical ideas on how loved ones can be supportive and is not too long for readers to lose interest! But You LOOK Good gets to the heart of why our friends and family have difficulty with understanding ongoing illness and pain. It serves as a tool to help explain to loved ones how extreme fatigue, pain, dizziness, cognitive impairments and other symptoms can be limiting, even though the person may not look sick or in pain. Moreover, it gives them simple, pragmatic ways to truly be an encouragement, what to say, what not to say and how to help. Often loved ones are enlightened as to why their well-meaning advice is not always well-received. It is cherished by both those living with illness or injury, as well as those who love them!
“An important antidote to the dogmatic ‘kale and vitamins’ tone of most ‘self-help’ literature.” —Alexa Tsoulis-Reay, senior writer, New York magazine Popular blogger Ilana Jacqueline offers smart and savvy advice, humor, and practical tips for living with an invisible chronic illness. Do you live with a chronic, debilitating, yet invisible condition? You may feel isolated, out of step, judged, lonely, or misunderstood—and that’s on top of dealing with the symptoms of your actual illness. Take heart. You are not alone, although sometimes it can feel that way. Written by a blogger who suffers from an invisible chronic illness, Surviving and Thriving with an Invisible Chronic Illness offers peer-to-peer support to help you stay sane, be your own advocate, and get back to living your life. This compelling guide is written for anyone suffering with an illness no one can see—such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), Lyme disease, lupus, dysautonomia, or even multiple sclerosis (MP). This book will tell you everything you need to know about living with a complicated, invisible condition—from how to balance sex, dating, and relationships to handling work and school with unavoidable absences. You’ll also learn to navigate judg-y or skeptical relatives and strangers and—most importantly—manage your medical care. Suffering from a chronic illness doesn’t mean you can’t live an active, engaged life. This book will show you how.
Invisible chronic illness (ICI) can manifest itself in chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and many other miseries that are often perceived and dismissed negatively, even by doctors. This book offers "an invaluable source of help and comfort" (Katharina Dalton, M.D.) to those who suffer from ICI. "Today" feature.
Redefining Disability features all disabled authors and creators. By combining traditional academic works with personal reflections, graphic art, and poetry, the volume centers disability by drawing from the experiences and expertise of disabled individuals.
“Disability rights activist Alice Wong brings tough conversations to the forefront of society with this anthology. It sheds light on the experience of life as an individual with disabilities, as told by none other than authors with these life experiences. It's an eye-opening collection that readers will revisit time and time again.” —Chicago Tribune One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, From Harriet McBryde Johnson’s account of her debate with Peter Singer over her own personhood to original pieces by authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma; from blog posts, manifestos, and eulogies to Congressional testimonies, and beyond: this anthology gives a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and the past with hope and love.
At the heart of developed societies lies an insatiable drive for wealth and prosperity. Yet in a world ruled by free-market economics, there are always winners and losers. The benefits enjoyed by the privileged few come at the expense of the many. In this important new book, Stephan Lessenich shows how our wealth and affluence are built overwhelmingly at the expense of those in less-developed countries and regions of the world. His theory of ‘externalization’ demonstrates how the negative consequences of our lifestyles are directly transferred onto the world’s poorest. From the destruction of habitats caused by the massive increase in demand for soy and palm oil to the catastrophic impact of mining, Lessenich shows how the Global South has borne the brunt of our success. Yet, as we see from the mass movements of people across the world, we can no longer ignore the environmental and social toll of our prosperity. Lessenich’s highly original account of the structure and dynamics of global inequality highlights the devastating consequences of the affluent lifestyles of the West and reminds us of our far-reaching political responsibilities in an increasingly interconnected world.
"This portrait of many months recovering has much to teach the physicians as well as lay readers. The condition she struggled with is neither rare nor trivial, but unfortunately, remains medically unaddressed." - Bruce Beutler Nobel Prize Winner & Laureate 2011. "As a close friend to Hannah and no stranger to brain injuries after playing in the NFL as a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills for sixteen years and being ranked 10th in NFL history, I watched Hannah regress slowly. I had just lost my friend, Junior Seau, to suicide resulting from a brain injury. I couldn't sit back and let her fall too. Today, the controversy over concussions and post concussion syndrome is growing rapidly. This timely book sheds a light for all those who have suffered from it." - Andre Reed NFL Hall of Fame 2014.
