Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride
Nadina LaSpina
Jul 2019 · New Village Press
star
3 reviews
Ebook
338
Pages
Tools
info
About this ebook
A memoir by a disability rights activist
Such a Pretty Girl is Nadina LaSpina's story—from her early years in her native Sicily, where still a baby she contracts polio, a fact that makes her the object of well-meaning pity and the target of messages of hopelessness; to her adolescence and youth in America, spent almost entirely in hospitals, where she is tortured in the quest for a cure and made to feel that her body no longer belongs to her; to her rebellion and her activism in the disability rights movement.
LaSpina’s personal growth parallels the movement’s political development—from coming together, organizing, and fighting against exclusion from public and social life, to the forging of a common identity, the blossoming of disability arts and culture, and the embracing of disability pride.
While unique, the author's journey is also one with which many disabled people can identify. It is the journey to find one's place in an ableist world—a world not made for disabled people, where disability is only seen in negative terms. La Spina refutes all stereotypical narratives of disability. Through the telling of her life’s story, without editorializing, she shows the harm that the overwhelming focus on pity and on a cure that remains elusive has done to disabled people. Her story exposes the disability prejudice ingrained in our sociopolitical system and denounces the oppressive standards of normalcy in a society that devalues those who are different and denies them basic rights.
Written as continuous narrative and in a subtle and intimate voice, Such a Pretty Girl is a memoir as captivating as a novel. It is one of the few disability memoirs to focus on activism, and one of the first by an immigrant.
Such a Pretty Girl is Nadina LaSpina's story—from her early years in her native Sicily, where still a baby she contracts polio, a fact that makes her the object of well-meaning pity and the target of messages of hopelessness; to her adolescence and youth in America, spent almost entirely in hospitals, where she is tortured in the quest for a cure and made to feel that her body no longer belongs to her; to her rebellion and her activism in the disability rights movement.
LaSpina’s personal growth parallels the movement’s political development—from coming together, organizing, and fighting against exclusion from public and social life, to the forging of a common identity, the blossoming of disability arts and culture, and the embracing of disability pride.
While unique, the author's journey is also one with which many disabled people can identify. It is the journey to find one's place in an ableist world—a world not made for disabled people, where disability is only seen in negative terms. La Spina refutes all stereotypical narratives of disability. Through the telling of her life’s story, without editorializing, she shows the harm that the overwhelming focus on pity and on a cure that remains elusive has done to disabled people. Her story exposes the disability prejudice ingrained in our sociopolitical system and denounces the oppressive standards of normalcy in a society that devalues those who are different and denies them basic rights.
Written as continuous narrative and in a subtle and intimate voice, Such a Pretty Girl is a memoir as captivating as a novel. It is one of the few disability memoirs to focus on activism, and one of the first by an immigrant.
A memoir by a disability rights activist
Such a Pretty Girl is Nadina LaSpina's story—from her early years in her native Sicily, where still a baby she contracts polio, a fact that makes her the object of well-meaning pity and the target of messages of hopelessness; to her adolescence and youth...
Discover more
Ratings and reviews
3 reviews
JULIE CIPOLLA
- Flag inappropriate
September 21, 2024
I LOVED this!! BEAUTIFUL! Passionate, loving sad, POWERFUL!!! A tale of courageous Disabled Activists transmuting their OUTRAGE about pity & ignorance typically shown them; and, changing the world forever for people with Disabilities. Woven into the tale is the true Love story of "Danny and Nadina." "Such a Pretty Girl," details the gruelling risks taken by the Disabled Activists, (& meanwhile having a lot of fun!). As the book's timeline progresses, the Disabled Activists come to realize that they have a right to expect MORE from life, at least as much as anybody else. And Disabled people began to emerge as if rising from the Dead and taking to the streets, defiantly protesting: "I want to LIVE!" Their irreversable rebellion said: "NO ONE decides FOR US whether we get to LIVE nor, can anyone legislate for us what quality of Life we have. Period." An AMAZINGLY triumphant Human-interest story. (For me) - it's an essential read - (I couldn't put the thing down . . . !!! LOL!
Selvije Mulaj
- Flag inappropriate
November 5, 2019
Still half-way through the book. Born with my own handicapped I found her to be brutally honest, Nadina tells of how life was for a crippled kid growing up in the sixties and seventies being the center of attention in a room which could easily hold sixty Doctors all talking about you, without even acknowledging your in the same room. Choices she made sometime were hard for me to understand and at times I found myself yelling at the book, but that was and is her life. Her activism made life simpler for me, I laughed and cried,with her,for her,and for myself; realizing we had gone through the same situations only in different decades. A great book so far I can't to reach the end.
Michael Ring
- Flag inappropriate
September 12, 2019
I can't wait to get arrested
About the author
Nadina LaSpina is a prominent activist in the disability rights movement and has been arrested countless times for civil disobedience. You can find her in the streets with Disabled In Action, ADAPT, the Disability Caucus, and other groups. After teaching Italian for many years, LaSpina created and taught courses in Disability Studies at The New School. She lives in New York City.
Nadina LaSpina is a prominent activist in the disability rights movement and has been arrested countless times for civil disobedience. You can find her in the streets with Disabled In Action, ADAPT, the Disability Caucus, and other groups. After teaching Italian for many years, LaSpina created an...
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
