This book is an absolute joy and Keah Brown’s spirit is infectious. It reads a little young, but it would be perfect for the new adult in your life, especially if they’re disabled.

I felt like there were many parts in the essays that could’ve been expanded upon and had further depth. A lot of these felt a little surface level and I was left wanting more. Great topics though but just really lacking

I have no clue why this book didn’t work for me. I’m not sure if I’m just not in the right headspace for it but the writing style felt incompatible with the way my brain works. I kept getting distracted with the flow of the essays, and I couldn’t stay connected to the point because of what felt like tangents. Brown is obviously a talented, impressive woman who is going to make a lot of positive differences in the world. I just couldn’t vibe with the way she writes.

Keah Brown is an amazing author, and this collection blew my mind in more than one way. I loved her on twitter and I love her even more after reading this.

Wonderful story of how Keah overcame her disability and is an inspiration to others. Very inspirational and heart warming.

I was excited about the opportunity to read this one. “The Pretty One” was such a refreshing read, a little different from what I usually reach for.

I applaud this author for using her voice to enlighten us on experiences in her journey being an African American woman with a disability. She embraces her uniqueness in such a way that invites us to do the same.

Great read!

Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy. The review is my honest opinion of this read.

The Pretty One is a book I needed and was incredibly excited see. To finally see a young, disabled, black woman tell a story so much like my own was refreshing, emotional, and, frankly, overdue. I've longed for mainstream coverage of life with a disability that didn't patronize people with disabilities. I could only dream that a voice that's marginalized under the best of circumstances -- a black woman -- would be the one to bring this book to fruition in a way that hit the mark for me.

I love Keah's conversational approach to her essays, which makes reading The Pretty One feel less like a collection of essays and more like a series of conversations with a good friend who just *gets* you. She also wants you to *get* her. This book doesn't sugarcoat what it's like to live with a disability, nor is it a sob story about how terrible life is. It's not easy to talk about the depths of her jealousy toward her twin, who doesn't have cerebral palsy. It's not easy to talk about the physical and emotional pain that comes with managing a chronic illness. Instead, it's transparent with just enough humor not to trivialize the fact that living with a disability isn't as easy as people might make it seem. I felt heard through Keah's essays and I think hers is an important voice in disability advocacy.

The Pretty One is such an easy book for me to recommend. For those who care about people living with disabilities, this is an essential read. For those living with disabilities, this is an opportunity to be seen and heard through an authentic and honest lens.

The Pretty One
On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love with Me

by Keah Brown


Atria Books

Biographies & Memoirs

Pub Date 06 Aug 2019


I am reviewing a copy of The Pretty One through Atria Books and Netgalley:




In this collection of Essays we discover that though Keah Brown loves herself now that was not always the case. She was born with Cerebral Palsy and at one time her greatest wishes were to be normal and to have a refuge from the steady stream of self hate that society had strengthened inside of her.


In this book Brown gives a relatable and contemporary voice to those with disabilities reminding us that portraying those with disabilities as weak, mute and isolated is wrong, that disabilities come in many forms.


In this Book Brown is able to smash stigmas, empower communities and celebrate herself!


I give The Pretty One five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

In disability and race activism there is a very important place for rage. Keah Brown shows us that there is also a place for youth and playfulness. Brown is as clear-eyed about the nuances of many-fronted discrimination as any disability/race/gender intersectional activist. She is also aware of the injuries her life has inflicted on herself and her relationships. But she makes the political choice to tackle this pain and ugliness with cuteness. With her smile, her youth, her #disabledandcute hashtag, she frames the discourses of disability, race and gender in terms that are both crystal clear and intensely palatable to 20- and 30-somethings and to pretty much everybody who wants to learn.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital ARC.
The Pretty One, by Keah Brown is an honest and heartfelt book.
Its a very quick read.

I grew up with a father that was in a wheel chair, so i know what it's like to deal with the shitty people.

I really connected with Keah through this book. 
4 star- i would recommend.

I REALLY liked this book. The author talks about how she went from hating herself and her disabilities to her loving herself and accepting who she is. I am also chronically ill so I felt like I could relate somewhat to the things she was talking about. I couldn't relate to the whole book because I'm white, but I do believe in the most of the things she was saying that are unfair to people of color in pop culture, life, and otherwise. I believe everyone should be treated equally unless given a reason otherwise. I highly recommend this book especially to people with chronic illness.

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read/review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Keah Brown for an ARC ebook copy. As always, an honest review from me.

Like:
- fun, quick, entertaining read
- Love her personality
- Discusses that she doesn't want people using her life as a disabled person as their inspiration (instead of being inspired by her personality, achievements and general awesomeness!)
- Her discussion about learning to do her own ponytail
- The author's personality --> it really shows through her writing style and keeps the book a perfect mix of fun but serious
- Discusses depression and suicidal thoughts in general and related to disabilities --- shows people that they're not weird for dealing with these issues

Love:
- created the hashtag #DisabledAndCute --- love it! ❤️ Puts the focus on looking nice and also shines a positive, inclusive light on her, and others, disability
- Truly educates about ableism which is so important since many people at ignorant about this topic and need to educate themselves. So definitely read this book and do a google search!

Dislike:
- Ignorant, rude people that Keah has encountered throughout her life

Wish that:
- there was more (at least in the beginning) about her relationship with herself and within the disabled community, and less about her jealousy of her sister ---- this is mostly related to drama in my personal life and the issues it reminds me of by reading her book --> later on the book becomes more balanced

Overall, a wonderful read that I'm so happy I requested as an ARC copy. I highly recommend it!

I wrote a long, rambling review of my thoughts while reading The Pretty One by Keah Brown, and then I realized I was just paraphrasing content that the author had already eloquently stated in a much more poignant, honest, and firsthand way. So I’m keeping those rambling thoughts for myself as a reminder that I still have so much to learn from others, and using this space to tell everyone in the world that you really need to go out and pick this book up and read it for yourself.

The Pretty One touched me and taught me so much. Keah Brown has one of the most refreshing and positive voices I have heard in a long time. Her words are equally honest, funny, poignant, and important. This collection of essays discusses representation at every intersection, and provides ample information on why disabilities are not only completely underrepresented in society at large but so often inaccurately represented. As an able-bodied white woman I took a lot of her words to heart, and realized how disabled people are continuously portrayed in a stereotypical manner in TV and movies, and more often than most by able-bodied actors. This collection discusses being disabled in an ableist society, from a personal and more general point of view, and how the author grew up hating her disability and her personal journey towards learning to love herself the way she is. Self-love, discrimination, under-representation, misrepresentation, tokenism, coming of age, activism, ableism, racism, feminism: Keah Brown’s essays touch on all of these topics and more, and they should be read and amplified. As a society we have to do so much better, and we must listen to those who are often erased or ignored is the first step.

And seriously, Keah Brown has such a unique, positive, and happy voice, she writes wonderfully, and these essays were all a joy to read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy, and thank to the author for writing such a wonderful, personal collection of essays. The Pretty One will be on my must read list for a long time.

As a middle-aged white disabled woman, I don’t think I was part of the target audience for this book. I think it is aimed more at young black disabled women. It might be helpful for a tween girl struggling to accept herself, but I didn’t get much out of it and wish I would have spent my time reading something else.

I thought this book was more boring and repetitious than wise and witty, and I couldn’t relate to the author’s pop culture references, but your mileage may vary. It sounds like the author has an interesting career, and I would have preferred if she wrote more about that rather than prattling on and on about her love affair with chairs. I suppose that was supposed to be funny, but I wasn’t amused. And why does the author have to mention her love of cheesecake so many times? What’s the point?

If you haven’t thought much about privilege or representation in the media, then you might benefit from the author’s impassioned arguments for more diverse representation. I found her discussion of clothing lines for the disabled interesting.

I was provided an ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.

Born with cerebral palsy and the creator of the viral hashtag #DisabledAndCute, Keah Brown is not one to let her disability slow her down. In her debut collection of essays, The Pretty One, Brown tells her story of what’s it like to be Black and disabled. This read was truly an experience outside of my own. I laughed, cried and couldn’t get enough of Brown’s positivity and determination. I am so happy this book exists, this is a must read!

Thank you Atria Books & NetGally for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Keah Brown is a disability rights advocate and creator of the #DisabledAndCute viral campaign. Her book, "The Pretty One" contains a collection of essays that explore what it means to be black and disabled in a mostly able-bodied white America. Her essays also discuss her deep affinity for all things pop culture, her relationship with her able-bodied identical twin (called “the pretty one” by friends), how she navigates romantic relationships, her declaration of self-love, and her disappointment with the media’s distorted view of disability. I'm looking forward to seeing her on the big screen soon!
For the most part, I enjoyed these essays. Keah's writing is clever, funny, thoughtful, heartbreaking, and emotional. She also covers various topics in each essay, but some of the essays repeat information and are redundant.
I did learn quite a bit about Keah's quest to change the preconceived notion of what disability looks like. "Disabled" is not a dirty word, but it's often viewed that way because the word shines a light on our differences. In actuality, most disabled people are not mute, weak, isolated, fragile, suffering, useless, abnormal, wrong, sick, or in need of a savior.
"The Pretty One" shattered my view of disabled people, and I'm grateful for that. I have a lot of work to do yet and am glad Ms. Brown has the courage and platform to raise awareness. So far, this book has enabled me to have a dozen conversations with friends about what it means to be disabled and how able-bodied people view and treat our disabled neighbors.

I initially accepted the pitch for this because I am obsessed with all things pop culture and because this is a voice that I don't really hear that often. (I read books about and by Black authors, but I don't know off the top of my head how many books by disabled authors I've read. Which means I don't read enough of them. I would like recommendations.)

I'm so glad I did. Keah Brown and I have a lot of pop culture in common and I got almost all of her references. I had that sort of giddy "ME TOO!" reaction so many times in this book and it felt like I was making a new best friend.

But that's not the real value here (although definitely come for the pop culture references, because they are perfection). Instead, it's in her candid discussions about how it feels to be disabled (her words) in a world that not only is clearly not meant for you but which seems to purposely ignore you (and best) and grind you down every chance it gets.  The act of loving yourself and being kind to yourself becomes an actual revolutionary act, one of the bravest things you can do. 

I loved this book so much and I hope this is the start of a long writing career. Keah Brown is my new favorite. Highly recommended.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is exactly the book we need right now. Not only does it inform and challenge stigma against people with disabilities, it is a meaningful story of the author’s journey to see herself as cute AND disabled. In a world that does not always love us, we need to love ourselves. We need to celebrate our own beauty in order to have the strength to fight the world’s ugly

This was a honest book about a journey to self-love and acceptance. I love's Keah's sense of humor, her sprinkles of pop culture and her inner journey as she tackles love, jealousy, racism, ableism. This book was such a treat. I can't wait to chat with Keah about the process of writing this book, her ahas and go more in depth about her journey to self-love,

These essays were a joy to read. You can feel the author's authenticity and spirit on every page. Ms. Brown does not shy away from showing us her inner most thoughts and experiences as a black, disabled woman who does not let her disability define her as a person. She takes us through the experiences that have had the most impact on her life, and have helped her develop her most authentic self.
I especially loved her use of literary devices such as metaphors, to talk about certain things; like how important chairs are in her everyday life (this was one of my favourites).
This book is uplifting, honest, insightful, and victorious. Highly recommend it if you are looking for something inspirational to read.