Keah Brown

Disability Pride Month Reading

Posted on by wkennar

July is Disability Pride Month, and Sunday, July 10th is Chronic Disease Awareness Day. 

For me, July also marks  the anniversary of “the day,” — the day I went into the hospital with a swollen left calf, unable to walk, unable to stand, without knowing that was only the beginning of my life with an invisible disability. (Twelve years ago this month.)

After I became ill and was finally diagnosed, I went looking — for help, for support, for community — in books. I didn’t find much.

Since then, however, my library has expanded and includes books that speak to my life with an invisible disability. Not necessarily because the author also has an autoimmune disease or chronic pain in her left leg. In fact, the specific details can vary widely, yet it’s the emotions we share. I read these books, and feel understood, and heard, and seen. And when you’re living with a medical condition that isn’t easily understood — by those closest to you and those treating you — that sense of community is huge. 

So this week, I’d like to share just a few books in honor of Disability Pride Month and Chronic Disease Awareness Day.

– Bravey by Alexi Pappas. The specifics are very different (she’s an Olympian after all!), but the emotions are similar. My copy is full of sticky notes. (You can check out my blog post, “Trying To Be a Bravey,” by clicking here.)

– The Things We Don’t Say: An Anthology of Chronic Illness Truths edited by Julie Morgenlender. I’m proud to say my essay, “Chronic Contradictions,” is included in this incredible collection. In this anthology “forty-two authors from around the world open up in fifty true stories about their chronic illnesses and their search for answers, poor treatment by doctors, strained relationships with loved ones, self-doubt, and more.” (You can read an earlier blog post written shortly after the anthology was published by clicking here.)

– Chronic Resilience by Danea Horn. I don’t remember how I discovered this book. I just know I felt so lucky to have found it. I have read it more than once, and even wrote the author a fan letter! I highly recommend it. (You can learn more about the book here.)

– The Pretty One by Keah Brown.  I found this book at Target and was captivated by the author’s smile and joy that is so evident on the front cover. (I wrote a blog post about Ms. Brown’s book and several of my favorite passages. You can read it here.)

– No Cure For Being Human by Kate Bowler. Incredible writing. Beautiful, profound, and funny too. (This book I read fairly recently, back in April. You can read my blog post, “No Cure For Being Human,” by clicking here.)

Readers, any recommendations? I’d love to hear about books you have read that you think those of us with disabilities and/or chronic diseases would enjoy reading.  

Thinking Pink Means Reading Pink

Posted on by wkennar

It’s June 23rd which means it’s National Pink Day. A day to celebrate “all things pink.” 

Some might think of the color pink and think of baby girls or cotton candy. 

Some might think of the singer and songwriter.

And others might think of Elle Woods and Legally Blonde. 

I learned about National Pink Day and thought of books. 

Here are some of my favorite pink books.

Beyond the Diaper Bag created by Megan Bekkedahl and Melaina Lausen

This book has a special place in my heart. It was the first time one of my personal essays (“5 Things I Wish Every Parent Knew Before Sending their Child to Kindergarten”) was published in an anthology.

Swapping Lives by Jane Green

A novel I read years ago that takes you on the journey of “What if…” What if you could imagine a different life? What if you stepped into another woman’s life?

The Victoria’s Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming and Other Lessons I Learned From Breast Cancer by Jennie Nash

This book showed me in a big way that authors publish books that are collections of personal essays. I read this book and thought, “Yes, it can be done. Yes, I can write about my autoimmune disease.”

The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love With Me by Keah Brown

Another book that has served as inspiration, giving me a nudge, encouraging me to write my story. 

In case you missed it, you can click here to read my earlier blog post, “Connecting With The Pretty One.”

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

I checked this novel out of the library but enjoyed it so much I bought my own copy to add to my personal library collection.

Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change by Maggie Smith

I won an advance reader’s edition from a Goodreads Giveaway (the only time I have won from the many giveaways I have entered). You’ll find my copy is full of sticky notes marking the many encouraging statements. A book I’ll return to again and again.

Chronic Resilience by Danea Horn

I consider it an act of serendipity that I discovered this important book. It is a must-read for anyone living with a chronic illness. (I have read it more than once and emailed a fan letter/thank you note to the author!)

What about you readers? Any favorite pink books? 

Connecting With ‘The Pretty One’

Posted on by wkennar

The latest book on my “just read” list is Keah Brown’s The Pretty One. 

I first saw the book at Target and was immediately intrigued by the author’s smile and subtitle – “On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons To Fall In Love With Me.”

Keah Brown and I are different.

She is in her twenties; I am in my forties.

She is black; I am white.

Her disability is visible; mine is invisible.

However, her book proves a very common theme – the more specific you can get in your writing, the more you’ll find it relates to so many different people. You don’t have to be like Keah Brown to read this book. In fact, maybe it’s better if you’re not. Because then you’re forced to go along with Ms. Brown for this ride; to get a sense of what it is like when most of the movies you enjoy watching don’t feature a character that looks like you. (Although, like Ms. Brown and her sister, many of my friends did refer to my younger sister as the “pretty one.”)

Here are a few takeaways I’d like to share with you this week:

“The loss of control is where the true manifestation of my anxiety begins: the fact that you’re put under and you have no idea what is being done to your body, but you lead with the hope that it is the right thing, as strangers cut into your body in an effort to make it better. The reality is that I frequently cut myself open in the figurative sense when I share bits of myself with readers and audiences, but the idea of being cut open in real life will never not worry me despite the many experiences I have had.” 

“The pain is still there when it wants to be. The pain is one of the factors of disability that I cannot control. All I can do is try my best to take back the narrative about what living with disabilities is like.”  

“I like that my journey has not been easy, because then I would not have my stories to tell. Getting to that place of thought was hard, but so much of my life makes sense in these terms.”

“Imagine if we gave ourselves the same sort of love, attention, and understanding we give the people we love. If we allowed our vulnerability to fuel us to be better people, to say and do more, to feel in and navigate a world that champions tears as much as it does strength, to see tears and crying as signs of strength, even.” 

“I have always believed it is imperative that we learn from the experiences and histories of other people to better understand each other and ourselves.”