An empowering collection of essays on the author's experiences in the disability justice movement. This is the second non-fiction book we've published by Leah; the first, the memoir Dirty River (2015), was a finalist for both a Lambda Literary Award and the Publishing Triangle's Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction. It continues to be a strong backlist seller for us; it is now in its third printing with sales of over 6,000 copies. Leah suffers from fibromyalgia, a muscle disorder that causes chronic pain. She has worked for many years in the disability justice movement, which not only advocates for the rights of disabled people (accessibility; health care issues) but also offers the disabled a means to empowerment and liberation, as well as sustainable systems of care and mutual support. Specifically, Leah is passionate about the movement as it affects sick and disabled people of color, queer people and color, and everyone else who's been excluded and marginalized from mainstream disability rights organizing. Spanning a decade of writing, these essays are both informative―collective access, survivor skills, the creation of disabled spaces―and personal, in which Leah describes her own experiences as a queer person of color in the health care system, and as an advocate for providing tools to disabled people that empower them to take control of their lives. Advocates for disability justice have become much more high-profile in recent years, as mainstream North American society has become increasingly sensitive to the needs of the disabled. At the same time, in this fragile political climate, those needs are at risk, especially those who belong to queer and BIPOC communities; this book is a reminder that we need to listen to, and be empathetic towards, the disabled. Dirty River's strong sales can be attributed to Leah's personal appearances at colleges, conferences, and bookstores, which she does on a regular basis; she is a passionate performer and thinker with a compelling stage presence. She will be making a number of appearances on behalf of this book this fall. In the author's own words: "Sometimes, you're lucky enough to be present for the birth of a movement that you desperately need in order to save your own life. Sometimes, you write stories and essays that document your own moments in time that are then picked up and used by community as they organize and come together. These things were all true for me, and this book encapsulates my journey." Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of the non-fiction books Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home and Consensual Genocide, and the poetry books Bodymap and Love Cake, and is the co-editor of The Revolution Starts at Home. A lead artist with disability justice performance collective Sins Invalid and co-founder of queer and trans people of color performance troupe Mangos With Chili, she performs and teaches across North America.
