This week, I am turning over a new leaf. I wrote and published a book. I am taking my power back. Being an independent author made me vulnerable. There still is a lot I don’t know about the publishing and marketing side of things. I made a lot of wrong turns and wasted some money. I followed the advice of experts, and each time I learned something. But book sales are tough to come by. It isn’t about the money as much as the sales of a book represent a type of validation. I really don’t regret my choices. I did everything I could to make my dream come true. So after months of turbulence in my life and finances, I am going to move in a new direction. I am going to focus on this blog as my platform.
I will use this platform to:
- Advocate for the civil rights of disabled people
- Share my experiences to educate the public
- And amplify the voices of my peers
Everything I said in Persistence is true. I told my story in humorous, painful, and personal detail. While I still think everyone should know by now that all of us are “normal people” whether we are in a disabled body or not, I recognize there is much of the world that is too uncomfortable to listen to the message. And some people don’t care. An example is threats to overturn Olmstead
DOJ Olmstead Opinion Threatens Community Living Rights
I chose the picture of me above to remember another time in my life that I took my power back. It was August 1997 at the Philadelphia arm of the national protest. Greyhound refused to put wheelchair lifts on their buses. We must continue to fight our battles. I refuse to give up.