Easy Beauty by Chloé Cooper Jones has quickly made it to one of my top books of the year.

This memoir is about Chloé Cooper Jones’ life as a disabled woman, a mother, an academic, and her journey to finding herself. Jones discusses her experience living with sacral agenesis and its side effects, such as chronic pain.

She tells of an awful conversation with two men that led to her impulsively travelling to Italy. A place where she reflected on the Ancient Roman’s beauty standards and their constant desire for symmetry. Jones discusses her other travel experiences after Italy, from journalist trips around the US to Cambodia.

She describes her relationship with her parents, partner, son, friends, and past romantic encounters. Jones shares many examples of how ableism is so inherent in society and how it can come from friends or strangers.

Chloé Cooper Jones’ writing is impeccable. At first, I tried to read this slowly, but after a while, I found it completely unputdownable. Her writing style is so engaging. Her storytelling made me laugh, fume, and even a bit emotional at times. There is a philosophical side to much of this narrative, and I’ll be honest, a lot of that went over my head.

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. How much I related to it. Although my disability is different, I’ve shared many similar experiences. It always blows my mind how many people can be so casually and audaciously ableist. When Jones recounted past conversations with people on eugenics, my blood started boiling at their sheer callousness.

I am so happy this book exists, and I hope to see more like it in the future.

I recommend this book to everyone. I’m sure other disabled people will find something to relate to here. And able-bodied people will get some insight into what it’s like living as a disabled person in an able-bodied world.

Many thanks to Avid Reader Press for a finished copy in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

This one is going to take the reading world by storm - I can't wait to watch others read and learn from this one like I did.

Easy Beauty is an exceptional memoir - following Chloe Cooper Jones through her experiences as a dreamer, writer, professor, mother, wife, while living with a rare congenital condition called sacral agenesis. Cooper Jones is an incredible writer and the way she has been seen—or not seen—has informed her lens on the world her entire life.

Chloe embarks on a journey across the world - to museums in Rome, beaches in Cambodia, bars in Brooklyn and tennis tournaments in the desert - sharing formative moments from her life that shape her identity. This book felt like a discovery - of both the writer, and the confines of the definitions placed on us - be that in beauty, ability, or societal expectations. This book made me pause multiple times, deconstructing perceptions, reflecting on my own assumptions about others. This is deep, spiky, and so damn smart. PLEASE put this on your list to read this year!