Overview

As a young woman, Judy Heumann rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare in San Francisco and demanded the implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which protected the rights of all people with disabilities. But before that, Judy was a kid making her way through a school system that wasn't designed to include people with disabilities. Paralyzed from polio and raised by her Holocaust-surviving parents, Judy's drive for equality was instilled early in her life. She was barred from starting kindergarten with her friends because the principal deemed her a fire hazard and had to be homeschooled until her parents found a program for disabled kids. She then fought her high school when they initially denied her a diploma because of her inability to participate in gym, and she fought her college when she was described as a fire hazard once again. This young-readers edition of her memoir offers an introduction to the disability-rights movement through the lens of her life. It centers on the universal yearning for connection and belonging that all young people experience as they navigate the trials of adolescence and shows young people that they have the power and strength to demand equal access in an unequal world. Fast-paced and engaging, it is a powerful story of fighting for what you deserve and is a must-listen for anyone with a passion for activism and equal rights.

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9781662088766

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Judith Heumann is an internationally recognized leader in the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement. Her work with a wide range of activist organizations, NGOs, and governments since the 1970s has contributed greatly to the development of human-rights legislation and policy benefiting disabled people. She has advocated for disability rights at home and abroad, serving in the Clinton and Obama administrations and as the World Bank's first adviser on disability and development. Kristen Joiner is an award-winning entrepreneur in the global nonprofit and social-change sector. Her writing on empowerment, inclusion, and human rights has been published in numerous outlets including the Stanford Social Innovation Review. She co-authored Judith Heumann's memoir, Being Heumann. Ali Stoker made history as the first actress in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway. After placing second on The Glee Project, a talent competition, she went on to co-chair Women Who Care, an organization that supports United Cerebral Palsy of New York City. Her exceptional ability to improve the lives of others through the arts, disabled or not, is captured in her motto: Turning Your Limitations Into Your Opportunities.

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