Books allow us to step into the lives of others and see firsthand how other people’s perspectives differ from our own. The ability to read stories from diverse perspectives and understand what others experience is often the best way to learn to empathize with people whose everyday lives differ from our own. Here at Bookstr, we read to learn empathy, so we’ve put together a list of books that helped us to empathize and understand better various disabilities. Take a look at what we picked!
The Right Sign by Nia Arthurs
This book has such an amazing representation of what it means to live with deafness, not only as a physical disability, but also culturally and socially. Arthur’s The Right Sign showcased a deaf woman navigating life, social circles, work life, and a love relationship. Each relationship was unique, while highlighting the differences in interactions, education, and acceptance. Not only was it helpful from a personal reader’s standpoint to place me into their shoes, but it showed me where even I, unknowingly, would misstep when interacting with a deaf person. Add in that it was an amazing romance, and each book in the series is about biracial couples where one or both have a disability, and they’re perfect five-star reads.
Kristi Eskew, Executive Editor
Dancing After TEN by Vivian Chong and Georgia Webber
Dancing After TEN, a graphic novel by Georgia Webber and Vivian Chong, highlights the story of a woman, Vivian, after Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) left her blind. The illustrations showed some of the intricacies of being blind, providing a first-person look into the world of blindness.
Cassandra Fushia, Editorial
Out Of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Focuses on a young girl with cerebral palsy going to a public school for the first time, and how there are technologies now that enable them to “speak“.
Solenn Vincent, Social Media
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, and Tobias Iaconis
A book that focuses on two teens with cystic fibrosis (CF), which is currently an incurable lung disease. The book showed the main characters’ (Stella and Will) attempts to have some normalcy in their lives (such as going on dates, celebrating birthdays, etc.) while in the hospital. It was adapted into a movie in 2019.
Hannah Childers, Editorial
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The story follows two best friends and partners in video game development. It features the character Sam, who was in a car accident when he was a child and has dealt with a severe leg injury ever since, undergoing multiple surgeries until he eventually had to get his leg amputated. Although the story is not entirely about being an amputee, I think it does a great job of representing the life of someone with a chronic injury. It showed the true struggle of having to decide to go through with amputation and having to put your life on hold to do it. I also learned so much about the aftermath and how, with phantom limb pains, amputation does not make the pain go away. It completely changed the way I think about amputation and chronic injuries.
Riley Harker, Editorial
It’s always important to try to understand the lives of those who live differently from you. These books can help us understand what everyday life is like living with these disabilities and help us see that there is usually much more than what meets the eye. We hope our insights into books that changed our outlook help to spread awareness and understanding.
For more books with disability representation, click here!
Browse these Bookstr Team recs and more on our Bookstr Team Recommendations bookshelf on Bookshop!
