Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
By: Nadina LaSpina
4.42
Format: 329 pages, Kindle Edition
A memoir by a disability rights activist Such a Pretty Girl is Nadina LaSpina's story—from her earl…
Want to Read $ 14.99"We believed we were supposed to "cope" as best we could. As we talked, we realized the disability itself was not that big a deal for us. We had all learned to accept our physical limitations. What made life difficult was not the disability, but the lack of services and support, the lack of accessibility, the unfair and stereotypical ways in which we were treated, the pity doled out for us all our lives. Often, after a meeting, I wrote my thoughts down in a notebook. "It's not my fault that I'm disabled, yet I've been made to feel that it is," I wrote. "My polio never made me unhappy; people made me unhappy. Ever since I was a little girl, people have always made me feel I was no good because I was disabled. From Sicilian women and the nuns to the doctors who couldn't fix me, to my fellow students and prospective employers... and even my own parents." As I wrote, my tears fell and stained the pages - tears of anger, of relief and of new hope."-Nadina LaSpina, Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
"We believed we were supposed to 'cope' as best we could. As we talked, we realized the disability itself was not that big a deal for us. We had all learned to accept our physical limitations. What made life difficult was not the disability, but the lack of services and support, the lack of accessibility, the unfair and stereotypical ways in which we were treated, the pity doled out for us all our lives. Often, after a meeting, I wrote my thoughts down in a notebook. 'It's not my fault that I'm disabled, yet I've been made to feel that it is,' I wrote. 'My polio never made me unhappy; people made me unhappy. Ever since I was a little girl, people have always made me feel I was no good because I was disabled. From Sicilian women and the nuns to the doctors who couldn't fix me, to my fellow students and prospective employers... and even my own parents.' As I wrote, my tears fell and stained the pages - tears of anger, of relief and of new hope."-Nadina LaSpina, Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
If you liked the biography plot in Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride by Nadina LaSpina , here is a list of 11 books like this:
1. Borne (Borne, #1)
By: Jeff VanderMeer
3.93
Format: 323 pages, Hardcover
In a ruined, nameless city of the future, a woman named Rachel, who makes her living as a scavenger… read more
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- audiobook
"People with packs are people with purpose."-Jeff VanderMeer, Borne (Borne, #1)
"It's not being hurt that hurts,' Borne said."-Jeff VanderMeer, Borne (Borne, #1)
"The real reality is something we create every moment of every day, that realities spin off from our decisions in every second we've alive."-Jeff VanderMeer, Borne (Borne, #1)
"You forgive if you can forgive yourself. Or live with what you've done. If you cannot live with what you've done, you cannot live with what others have done either."-Jeff VanderMeer, Borne (Borne, #1)
Similar categories in James W. Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me book and Nadina LaSpina's Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
- nonfiction
3. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
By: Barbara Ehrenreich
3.78
Format: 377 pages,
Reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity--a land of Big Box… read more
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- social justice
- nonfiction
- memoir
4. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
By: Atul Gawande
4.51
Format: 192 pages, Hardcover
The New York Timesbestselling author of Betterand Complicationsreveals the surprising power of the … read more
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- nonfiction
5. Angle of Repose
By: Wallace Stegner
3.56
Format: None pages,
Wallace Stegner's Pultizer Prize-winning novel is a story of discovery--personal, historical, and g… read more
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6. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
By: Loung Ung
4.34
Format: 238 pages, Paperback
From a childhood survivor of the Cambodian genocide under the regime of Pol Pot, this is a riveting… read more
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- biography memoir
- nonfiction
- biography
- memoir
"In my heart I know the truth, but my mind cannot accept the reality of what this all means."-Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
"I think how the world is still somehow beautiful even when I feel no joy at being alive within it. "-Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
"No one knows how precious you are. You are a diamond in the rough and with a little polishing, you will shine,"-Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
"This is what the war has done to me. Now I want to destroy because of it. There is such hate and rage inside me now. The Angkar has taught me to hate so deeply that I now know I have the power to des…"-Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
7. Island of a Thousand Mirrors
By: Nayomi Munaweera
3.59
Format: 464 pages, Hardcover
A stunning literary debut of two young women on opposing sides of the devastating Sri Lankan Civil … read more
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8. Square³
By: Mira Grant
3.94
Format: 144 pages, Hardcover
We think we understand the laws of physics. We think reality is an immutable monolith, consistent … read more
Want to Read $ 4.99Similar categories in Mira Grant's Square³ book and Nadina LaSpina's Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
- audiobook
9. I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964 (I Survived #23)
By: Lauren Tarshis
4.04
Format: 144 pages, Paperback
The Great Alaska Earthquake is the largest and most powerful recorded earthquake in US history. Lau… read more
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- audiobook
10. Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
By: Robert Kolker
4.16
Format: 377 pages, Hardcover
The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed … read more
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- nonfiction
- biography
- memoir
- audiobook
"One of the consequenses of surviving schizophrenia for fifty years is that sooner or later, the cure becomes as damaging as the disease"-Robert Kolker, Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
"[..] Schizophrenia simply can't be imposed or inflicted on someone who is not genitically predisposed to develope the condition (D. Rosenthal)"-Robert Kolker, Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
"[They] talked a lot about the particular way Mimi hade of silencing Lindsay. She wouldn't say "Shut up." It was more like "You think you've got troubles?" She attacked Lindsay's emotions by undermini…"-Robert Kolker, Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
"[This essential question about schizophrenia - does it run in families or emerge fully formed out of nowhere? - would consume theorists and therapists and biologists and, later, geneticists, for gene…"-Robert Kolker, Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
11. Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics
By: Dolly Parton
4.03
Format: 380 pages, Hardcover
New York Times bestseller Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is a landmark celebration of … read more
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- biography
- memoir
- biography memoir
- nonfiction
- audiobook
"My coat of many colors that my mama made for me, Made only from rags, but I wore it so proudly. Now I know we had no money, but I was rich as I could be. In my coat of many colors my mama made for me…"-Dolly Parton, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics
12. Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City
By: Andrea Elliott
4.72
Format: 602 pages, Hardcover
The riveting, unforgettable story of a girl whose indomitable spirit is tested by homelessness, pov… read more
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- biography
- memoir
- nonfiction
- social justice
- audiobook
".. they assume that intelligence is a pre-ordained trait, [...], their perceived destiny, which flows from another belief, that the poor are to blame for their condition. Poverty is the proof of defi…"-Andrea Elliott, Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City
13. A Snake Falls to Earth
By: Darcie Little Badger
3.95
Format: 377 pages, Kindle Edition
Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She's always felt there was something more out there. She still … read more
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- audiobook
"Hey Daysona!"-Darcie Little Badger, A Snake Falls to Earth
"And their voices had a keenly musical quality. It wasn't that the animal people barked out literal instrumental notes or sand when they spoke. Rather, their words ignited emotional responses Nina had…"-Darcie Little Badger, A Snake Falls to Earth
14. Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally
By: Emily Ladau
4.41
Format: 176 pages, Paperback
An approachable guide to being a thoughtful, informed ally to disabled people, with actionable step… read more
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- nonfiction
- social justice
- disability
- audiobook
15. It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror
By: Joe Vallese
4.18
Format: 298 pages, Paperback
Through the lens of horror—from "Halloween" to "Hereditary"—queer and trans writers consider the fi… read more
Want to Read $ 9.34Similar categories in Joe Vallese's It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror book and Nadina LaSpina's Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
- nonfiction
- audiobook
"Androgyny doesn't look a certain way, though gender is ingrained in society such that liberal readings are applied to everyone, sprinkling gender on everything from haircuts to careers to alcoholic b…"-Joe Vallese, It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror
16. The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear
By: Kate Moore
4.30
Format: 560 pages, Hardcover
1860: As the clash between the states rolls slowly to a boil, Elizabeth Packard, housewife and moth… read more
Want to Read $ 9.00Similar categories in Kate Moore's The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear book and Nadina LaSpina's Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
- biography
- feminism
- biography memoir
- nonfiction
- audiobook
"Insane asylum - a place where insanity is made."-Kate Moore, The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear
"In the end, this is a book about power. Who wields it. Who owns it. And the methods they use. And above all, it's about fighting back."-Kate Moore, The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear
"As Elizabeth put it, “I have neglected no duties, have injured no one, have always tried to do unto others as I would wish to be done by; and yet, here in America, I am imprisoned because I could not…"-Kate Moore, The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear
"It's a book that is set over 160 year ago. A lot has changed. A lot hasn't. We are only just beginning to appreciate exactly how a person's powerlessness may lead to struggles with their mental healt…"-Kate Moore, The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear
17. Tastes Like War
By: Grace M. Cho
3.92
Format: 289 pages, Paperback
Grace M. Cho grew up as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess… read more
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- biography
- memoir
- biography memoir
- nonfiction
- audiobook
18. Poor Deer
By: Claire Oshetsky
3.99
Format: 240 pages, Hardcover
A wondrous, tender novel about a young girl grappling with her role in a tragic loss—and attempting… read more
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- audiobook
"She has just learned that some things are forever, and other things are never-again."-Claire Oshetsky, Poor Deer
"On this day the girl feels so much love pouring out of her mother that she is certain her mother has the power to save her. Soon she will come to understand she can't be saved."-Claire Oshetsky, Poor Deer
19. Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
By: Judith Heumann
4.48
Format: 232 pages, Hardcover
One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of f… read more
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- biography
- memoir
- biography memoir
- nonfiction
- social justice
- disability
- audiobook
"When other people see you as a third-class citizen, the first thing you need is a belief in yourself and the knowledge that you have rights. The next thing you need is a group of friends to fight bac…"-Judith Heumann, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
"When someone ignores you, it's an intentional display of power. They're essentially acting like you don't exist, and they do it because they can. They believe that nothing will happen to them. Ignori…"-Judith Heumann, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
20. After She Wrote Him
By: Sulari Gentill
3.58
Format: 256 pages, Paperback
Originally titled Crossing the Lines If you get lost in a book, be sure you can find your way ba… read more
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- audiobook
21. Set the Record Straight
By: Hannah Bonam-Young
3.89
Format: 150 pages, ebook
A fake dating, childhood friends to lovers, bisexual-awakening, holiday romance. The day Clara s… read more
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- audiobook
22. The Night Guest
By: Hildur Knútsdóttir
3.67
Format: 208 pages, Hardcover
Hildur Knutsdottir's The Night Guest is an eerie and ensnaring story set in contemporary Reykjavík … read more
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- audiobook
23. Where the Dead Sit Talking
By: Brandon Hobson
3.35
Format: 289 pages, Paperback
National Book Award finalist Best book of 2018: Kirkus, Southern Living, and NPR Code Switch Read… read more
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- audiobook
24. Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage
By: Rachel E. Gross
4.42
Format: 336 pages, Hardcover
A scientific journey to the center of the new female body. The Latin term for the female genital… read more
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- feminism
- nonfiction
- audiobook
"Medicine is supposed to be unbiased," she says. "But when we look at the bigger picture of it, we can see that it is far from that."-Rachel E. Gross, Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage
"Darwin's attitudes toward women were a direct outgrowth of his ideas about other animals—or, rather, each reinforced the other. Throughout his career, he insisted that female animals were less capabl…"-Rachel E. Gross, Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage
"Your vagina is another planet. If you could shrink down to the size of a grain of sand and go between your own legs, you'd find a wondrous realm of humid jungles, cool caves, and viscous pits of mucu…"-Rachel E. Gross, Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage
25. Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America
By: Eliza Griswold
4.26
Format: 318 pages, Hardcover
Prize-winning poet and journalist Eliza Griswold's Amity and Prosperity is an expose on how frackin… read more
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- nonfiction
- social justice
- audiobook
26. Golem Girl: A Memoir
By: Riva Lehrer
4.32
Format: 448 pages, Hardcover
What do we sacrifice in the pursuit of normalcy? And what becomes possible when we embrace monstros… read more
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- biography
- memoir
- biography memoir
- nonfiction
- disability
- audiobook
27. A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome
By: Ariel Henley
4.30
Format: 400 pages, Hardcover
I am ugly. There's a mathematical equation to prove it.At only eight months old, identical twin sis… read more
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- biography
- memoir
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- nonfiction
- disability
- audiobook
28. The Sacrament
By: Olaf Olafsson
3.72
Format: 304 pages, Hardcover
The haunting, vivid story of a nun whose past returns to her in unexpected ways, all while investig… read more
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- audiobook
"I watched them drive away. The Citroën was bright green and jolted slightly. The sun went on shining."-Olaf Olafsson, The Sacrament
29. About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times
By: Peter Catapano
4.41
Format: 304 pages, Hardcover
Boldly claiming a space in which people with disabilities can be seen and heard as they are—not as … read more
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- memoir
- nonfiction
- social justice
- disability
- audiobook
30. Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism
By: Elsa Sjunneson
4.40
Format: 288 pages, Hardcover
A deafblind writer and professor explores how the misrepresentation of disability in books, movies,… read more
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- biography
- memoir
- nonfiction
- social justice
- disability
- audiobook
"Did you know that Helen Keller created her own form of sign language to communicate with her family? (Page 32)"-Elsa Sjunneson, Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism
"Most Deaf kids have home signs; they develop their own ways to get what they need. I have my own, too. My colleagues in the science fiction world who sign can get my attention, can communicate with m…"-Elsa Sjunneson, Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism
"The English language is perniciously ableist. We speak in metaphor that constantly puts down disabled bodies, with phrases like "turning a blind eye" and "it fell on deaf ears" falling from our lips …"-Elsa Sjunneson, Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism
31. Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
By: Nadina LaSpina
4.42
Format: 329 pages, Kindle Edition
A memoir by a disability rights activist Such a Pretty Girl is Nadina LaSpina's story—from her earl… read more
Want to Read $ 14.99Similar categories in Nadina LaSpina's Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride book and Nadina LaSpina's Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
- biography
- memoir
- feminism
- biography memoir
- nonfiction
- social justice
- disability
- audiobook
"We believed we were supposed to "cope" as best we could. As we talked, we realized the disability itself was not that big a deal for us. We had all learned to accept our physical limitations. What ma…"-Nadina LaSpina, Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
"We believed we were supposed to 'cope' as best we could. As we talked, we realized the disability itself was not that big a deal for us. We had all learned to accept our physical limitations. What ma…"-Nadina LaSpina, Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
