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See Me Rolling: On Disability, Equality and Ten-Point Turns - Softcover

Jackson, Lottie

 
9781529156058: See Me Rolling: On Disability, Equality and Ten-Point Turns
Softcover
ISBN 10: 152915605X ISBN 13: 9781529156058
Verlag: Penguin, 2024

Inhaltsangabe

A wonderfully witty and fiercely passionate memoir on living with a disability, and how we can redefine what it means to be disabled.
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'Jackson's frank, fearless and sometimes hilarious book deserves to be read as widely as possible.' Daily Express

'I am blown away . . . Beautifully written, funny and such an important call to action.' Venetia La Manna

'I loved, loved, loved this book. A profound, heartfelt and eye-opening look into the way people with disabilities are treated, with the power of championing change and inclusion for all.' Charli Howard
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In this heartfelt, thought-provoking and often hilarious book, Lottie Jackson reflects on her experiences of living with disability: from the pitfalls of going shopping on a mobility scooter, and the headache of defining oneself on a tick-box form, to a slapstick scuffle with the so-called 'easy-pull' tights aid, and the intense pleasure of finally swapping a hospital gown for a slinky dress. Lottie captivatingly expresses the raw vulnerabilities, injustices and untold joys of disability, as well as the bizarre everyday occurrences that able-bodied people usually don't experience.

Lottie powerfully explores the ways in which we undervalue and underrepresent disabled people in our society, and demonstrates how negative stigmas about 'abnormal' bodies seep into all aspects our lives. In this dazzling debut, Lottie reveals why we must strive for change and redefine what it means to be disabled in every facet of life.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Lottie Jackson is a writer, editor and disability activist. Featured in the Sunday Times Style's Women of the Year 2020 as 'an important emerging voice', her work offers a vital dissection of the myths that beset disability. She has written for British Vogue, Elle, Guardian, The Sunday Times and Telegraph, bringing her fresh perspective on the most urgent conversations of today that strike at the heart of identity, social progress and diversity. In 2020, she was selected for Penguin Random House's award-winning WriteNow programme. Her writing redefines what it means to be disabled with nuance and wit, inspiring us to see new ways of existence.

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Introduction

Disability n. /?  dis-?-? bi-l?-te / (pl. disabilities)
1. an illness, injury, or condition that makes it difficult for
someone to do the things that other people do
2. a disadvantage

I’m going to level with you. Forget everything you’ve been
led to believe about disability. You’ve been sold a lie. Dis
ability is not a laminated blue badge nor an accessibility
themed emoji. And it’s certainly not a members only club
where the cognoscenti are granted VIP status, amid the
chintz walls, shadow strewn mahogany and heady flow of
negronis.
But it’s quite simple actually. Disability is the resistance to
let your body define you, it’s the everyday and it’s the future
of missed opportunity. It’s also the uproarious triumphs and
quirky adaptations that make life that little bit smoother.
Have you tried a one touch tin opener? But most of all, it’s a
steely grip on optimism – the sheer refusal to give up when
everything, for a while, feels bleak.
I’ve spent the past several years trying to negotiate a new
relationship to my physical abilities, fighting the internal,
unceasing frustration that I can no longer nip to the shops
just for the hell of it, or ramble through the city placing
one foot in front of the other. To zip, dash, dart and dive
are deleted from my lexicon. But their trace remains – the
feeling of striding along rain dashed, glistening streets.
Drippy street lamps swallowed up by the evening vibrations
of the city; the metallic thrum of traffic bouncing down
cobbled alleys, as the waggling tongues of strangers suck
you in. All those magical, spontaneous freedoms that can
now feel out of reach.
Since birth I’ve had a generalised muscle weakness dis
ability, a rare, non progressive condition affecting my physical
strength. For a long time, this condition didn’t pose many
constraints on my day to day life. I grew up with the belief
that most things were achievable and nothing insurmount
able. Then, plot twist: just as I was approaching adulthood,
I faced several years of intermittent, yet severe illness (such
as serious pneumonia), which entailed long spells in inten
sive care. This has significantly impacted my mobility and
stamina – just getting around has become more challenging,
so I’m dependent on places being easy to access. It has also
affected the physical strength of my voice and, due to fac
tors like noisy environments, it is sometimes hard to make
myself heard or speak at length.
Now, there’s an infinite vulnerability that comes with
knowing that my experience in the world is shaped by ele
ments out of my control. Being heavily reliant on external
circumstances, like the accessibility of buildings or tolerant
attitudes, is daunting – at times, nails on chalkboard excru
ciating. I have been forced to accept unwanted limits on my
independence.
In my head, I wade and paddle through the currents of
the past, of adventure and blissful possibility. I try to immerse
myself in the ripples of normality. To forget this can no
longer be actioned through my body and hold on to the
vestiges of my past self. But for every reverie, there comes
that crest of breathless realisation. Naturally, it’s easy to feel
both furious and fatalistic about this. To tell myself that all
these limits placed on my power makes it hardly worth utilis
ing at all. But a new reality has given me something I never
expected – something that has struck my soul, defining my
perspective in ways that I am only beginning to unravel.
Disruption has been the trigger for an invigorating pur
pose, creativity and ambition in my life. What was once dis
mantling, is now anchoring. I’ll admit it has taken time to
unearth this personal truth. To discard the exhausting stig
mas and enraging delusions about disability that have tried
to engulf me. And accept that my disability is a source of
inner strength and vitality, not weakness.
As I scrawled and furiously typed, this book presented
itself as a chance to make sense of what I have gained and,
in turn, who I have become. It has reminded me that, no
matter how challenging it feels to be restricted, I now have
something hard won and irreplaceable: the way I connect
with the world. On every page, I saw my ability to extract
humour, compassion, truth and beauty, even from the most
unexpected places. This hasn’t come about by chance. It
has come about through struggle, defiance and unfalter
ing love – the sum of my experiences. So whether it’s the
tale of my narcoleptic driving instructor (humour), a timely
mug of NHS tea (compassion) or my sister’s unsolicited
mullet (beauty?), there is meaning and action to be found
far beyond the material constraints of the body.
But do not mistake this as Pollyannaism, or a fool’s para
dise. Inside this book lies a different kind of freedom – one
that I believe is politically and philosophically important. As
I push against a culture that demands physical perfection,
I want to show what can be achieved when we rewrite the
rules of a ‘meaningful’ existence, and expand our ideas of
what constitutes a ‘normal’ body.

‘Disability is not a brave struggle,’ as the playwright Neil
Marcus attests, ‘it’s an ingenious way to live.’ This is perhaps
the most intriguing and incisive statement that has been writ
ten on disability. But, right now, our culture refuses to accept
its truth. Instead, everything about disability is grotesquely
warped and twisted. Too often the perception of being dis
abled is locked into an archaic stereotype, where someone’s
body immediately defines whether they’re to be pitied or
feared. Our collective stance on disability holds about as
much nuance as a pantomime dame. Like Widow Twankey’s
failure to convincingly portray the emotional landscape of a
beleaguered housewife, we have squashed down the disabled
experience into simplistic, reductive and often farcical terms.
Disability stereotypes are illusions – no more real than the
Missus Twankey’s sock stuffed bust, polyester tresses and
melting beauty spot.
There’s no denying that disability is still configured
through a distorted lens. Research by the charity Scope
reveals a staggering two thirds of the public feel uneasy
talking to disabled people, simply through fear of coming
across as patronising or not knowing how to act. How
ever, when it comes to millennials – a subgroup defined by
progressive politics and liberal ideologies – the outlook is
particularly alarming. For all our loud declarations of ally
ship, millennials are twice as likely as boomers to feel awk
ward around people with disabilities, while a fifth of 18 to
34 year olds admit to avoiding interactions entirely because
they’re unsure how to communicate. If the next generation
perceives disability as something problematic, or unreadable,
are we going backwards?
Our social angst is underpinned by the fact that we live in
a world that idolises able bodiedness and catastrophises any
sign of physical imperfection. While I might use a mobility
scooter to help me travel around outdoors, it should not be
a mark of defeat, embarrassment nor anything that should
change how I am perceived. A scooter has given me an inde
pendence I otherwise couldn’t imagine. But, regardless of
...

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Verlag
Penguin
Erscheinungsdatum
2024
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
152915605X
ISBN 13 
9781529156058
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
368
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
The Random House Group Limited
productsafety@penguin.co.uk

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