Care Work

November 1, 2018

Poet, educator, and social activist Piepzna-Samarasinha makes it clear from the start of this work that most people have "never seen disabled queer and trans Black, Indigenous, and people of color (QTBIPOC) writers talking about the nitty-gritty facts of our lives out loud before, without apology." This work is more than a memoir, though parts of it are remembrances; it is also an agenda-setting manifesto for disability justice. What gives the agenda a sense of urgency is the combination of real-life descriptions of how disabled people experience their realities with practical on-the-ground strategies that are both definitive and theoretical. Another important aspect of this significant addition to disability literature is that it is unapologetic about its argument that disability, whether physical or mental, is a birth not a death; a positive not a negative. VERDICT Beginning with its very title, concepts that may be new to many readers abound in this vital work. Besides appealing to people with disabilities, those interested in social justice will be engaged as well.--David Azzolina, Univ. of Pennsylvania Libs., Philadelphia

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