Sitting Pretty: A Memoir of My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body

Taussig debuts with a pull-no-punches memoir about life in a wheelchair. She insists up front that she doesn’t speak for everyone with a disability (“I would be doing us all a great disservice if I led you to believe that the conversation starts and ends with bodies and experiences that look just like mine”) and provides a frank look into her life with “a body that doesn’t work,” one that she’s lived in since surviving an aggressive cancer as a 14-month-old. She analyzes sex and disabilities; her marriage to her first husband, which came about only because she was afraid it would be her only chance (she eventually found love with her second husband); unintentional ableism; online dating; and what she sees as the disempowering message from Hollywood that characters with disabilities are “always longing for a ‘whole' body through a fantasy sequence.” Taussig’s refreshing, matter-of-fact tone makes it clear that she’s not asking anyone to feel sorry for her; rather, she’s asking for just the opposite—to not be defined by her wheelchair. Her smart and witty observations about living with disabilities will be enlightening and eye-opening for readers. (Aug.)