From fiction that will have you crying with laughter to uplifting biographical stories of perseverance and discovery.
Whether the purpose is to inspire, motivate, or challenge the reader, or to speak their truth and share their journey, the voices of writers with a disability are an important part of Australia’s literary heritage.
From fiction that will have you crying with laughter to uplifting biographical stories of perseverance and discovery. Here are just five must-reads written by Australians with a disability.
This autobiography chronicles Dr Dinesh Palipana’s journey as the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland from his spinal cord injury, suffered in a car crash halfway through medical school. Despite the pain and hardship, Dinesh now sees his accident as a turning point for the better in his life, he believes it made him a better doctor. He now fights for equal and equitable access for people with a disability.
Fun fact: we’re such big fans of Dinesh and the advocacy work that he does, that we asked him to be a guest speaker at our 2023 Human Rights Conference.
Growing Up Disabled in Australia is a compilation of stories from more than forty writers with a disability or chronic illness, sharing their stories in their own words. The illuminating collection has been edited by writer and appearance activist, Carly Findlay OAM.
Late Bloomer is a heartfelt coming-of-age memoir that will change the way you think about autism. Diagnosed at age 36, Clem reflects on her formative experiences as an undiagnosed young person, deconstructing the misconceptions and celebrating the realities of autistic experience.
One for the fiction fans, Me, Antman & Fleabag takes the reader on a spirited road trip across Australia. The unique tale shares a peek into modern indigenous life and the family and friends that complete it.
Hearing Maud is a hybrid memoir that details the author’s experience of deafness from the age of four and how, through the story of Maud Praed, the deaf daughter of a 19thy century novelist, she began to better understand the impact it had on her emotional landscape, relationships and career.
We’ve shared a small fraction of the incredible fiction and non-fiction stories told by Australians with disabilities that are available, you can find more using the australiandisabledauthors.com.au database. Happy reading!
If you’ve exhausted this list and are still hungry for more content, check out our list of top disability podcasts from 2024.
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