My hope for this blog is to express the reality of what it's like for me as a human living with a disability, as well as highlighting how systemic discrimination affects those of us who are disabled. The journey to this point, however, has been fraught, like much of my life has been since everything changed.
I became totally and permanently disabled just under four years ago. Over that time, whenever I've recounted an anecdote or expressed irritation at the system, many an able-bodied person has told me that I need to tell my story so that more people can understand what it's really like. Until recently, my response was, "I'm far too busy just surviving."
Fortunately for you, dear reader, thanks to medication I'm doing quite well in the not dying department.
Still, trying to tell my tale is a daunting task I never asked for. I prefer fiction because I like my misery to come with a predictable story arc and a nice buffer of distance. I never wanted the first thing I published to be a story about myself. I'd much rather spin you a tale about anyone else. Wanting to create a platform like this, I really didn't know what to do, let alone how to do it. I applied for mentorships and applied for graduate programs. Everything fell through though, usually because of one barrier or another. So I was on my own.
Except not truly because I have some fantastically talented and supportive people who are kind enough to support me.
A dear friend happens to be a phenomenal graphic designer and she used her skills to give a serious face lift to my hideous first attempt at a website. Other kind-hearted humans have supported me by providing food, monetary support, cats to pet, or checking in when I've been too physically weak to stand.
Then there is my writing partner, without whom, my world would be very dark indeed.
The reasons behind calling this blog Dis/Ability are many, but a majority of the credit goes to Elise. She came into my life when both of us were newly minted disabled humans and they have been an incomparable influence on everything I am—but especially my writing.
They suggested Dis/Ability because "to understand brokenness, you have to step outside of the systems and structures of privilege and oppression; make no mistake—language is one of these."
And so, she and I are actively choosing to break the very words used to describe these identities and experiences. We hope that by breaking them, they are made new and more beautiful so that perhaps, you never see them the same way again.
Thank you for joining me on this journey of loss, destruction, and rebirth.
