There are a lot of books out there outlining disability history. I haven't read them all, but I have read one that has always stuck with me. No Pity was the first book on disability history that I ever read. It was part of my Independent Livng class in college. I am so thankful this book was part of it because it opened me to a larger movement that I have never been aware of. It made me aware of the ones that had gone before me to bring about the ADA and IDEA. It also made me think about where things were going, and were I am a part of it.
The book explains the orgins of the movement from Ed Roberts days at UC Berkley up until the passage of the ADA. In his easy to read style, John Shapiro explains what happened without coming off too biased on the side of the rights movement. I liked that he took a lot of perspectives in the movement - those with physical disabilities, the Deaf, learning disabilities, and many others. I gave my only copy away to my successor as President of Advocates for Disability Awarenss, and I miss it. Hopefully they read it and passed it on themselves. I would really like to reconnect with this book. No Pity will always be the first book to open my eyes to the larger disability rights movement that I took for granted.
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