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The Ohio River Valley is beautiful this time of year. Trees line the hills, their green canopies stretching up across the horizon as far as the eye can see. Down at the river, you can watch barges glide across the water. I love exploring with my camera and trying to capture the gorgeous scenery around me.
For today’s newsletter, we’re looking at two more memoirs for Disability Pride Month. One contemplates the meaning of beauty from her perspective as someone with a visible disability. In the other, a DeafBlind woman attended Harvard Law, inventing technology to make the world more accessible for her and others.
But before we jump into those, it’s time for bookish goods.
Bookish Goods
Adds to TBR Sticker by ScrappyStitcherCo
I add stickers to everything, from my computer case to my Hobonichi Techo planner. So, of course, I need this one, too! $3
New Releases
The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us by Rachelle Bergstein
Judy Blume’s book changed the way the literary landscape viewed what stories for young people could be. Now, Rachelle Bergstein details Judy Blume’s career and how the author’s books became so beloved by generations of readers.
Sharks Don’t Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist by Jasmin Graham
Jasmin Graham, one of the three Black women to found Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), discusses her experience being a marine biologist in a field dominated mostly by white male scientists. She shares her love of sharks and what inspired her to fight for more opportunities in marine biology for young women of color.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Easy Beauty: A Memoir by Chloé Cooper Jones
Chloé Cooper Jones finds herself in a bar listening to two men argue whether or not a disabled person like her should even exist. Jones was born with a condition that resulted in her being short of stature with a change in her gait. Moving through the world as a visibly disabled person, Jones knows what it’s like to feel like she has to prove herself. But isn’t that just her internalized ableism speaking, she wonders.
Easy Beauty follows Jones on her journey to finding meaning and peace in a world that all too often reminds her that it wasn’t built with her in mind.
Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Girma
Haben Girma is a DeafBlind disability advocate who’s traveled the world, graduated from Harvard Law School, and met President Obama. She grew up visiting her family in Eritrea, learning about how her grandparents fought for their freedom from Ethiopia. She always wanted to embody her family’s courage, so she decided to bravely face the world. She didn’t accomplish these things by overcoming her disability. Instead, she embraced it, inventing new accommodation technology and advocating for better disability inclusion.