I Don't Do Disability and Other Lies I've Told Myself

by Adelle Purdham

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Pub Date Dec 03 2024 | Archive Date Sep 30 2024

Dundurn Press

Biographies & Memoirs | Nonfiction (Adult) | Parenting & Families

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Description

“A tender, beautifully written essay collection that is about so much more than parenting a child with a disability.” — Erin Pepler, author of Send Me Into The Woods Alone

A raw and intimate portrait of family, love, life, relationships, and disability parenting through the eyes of a mother to a daughter with Down syndrome.

With the arrival of her daughter with Down syndrome, Adelle Purdham began unpacking a lifetime of her own ableism.

In a society where people with disabilities remain largely invisible, what does it mean to parent such a child? And simultaneously, what does it mean as a mother, a writer, and a woman to truly be seen?

The candid essays in I Don’t Do Disability and Other Lies I’ve Told Myself glimmer with humanity and passion, and explore ideas of motherhood, disability, and worth. Purdham delves into grief, rage, injustice, privilege, female friendship, marriage, and desire in a voice that is loudly empathetic, unapologetic, and true. While examining the dichotomies inside of herself, she leads us to consider the flaws in society, showing us the beauty, resilience, chaos, and wild within us all.

Advance Praise

"A beautifully intimate blend of personal narrative, cultural critique, and sharp-eyed social commentary on disability and motherhood, this stirring debut is lyrical, heartfelt, and uncomfortably honest." — Lindsay Wong, author of The Woo-Woo

"Purdham shows us that disability is life, and she illustrates this with fierce veracity and through intensely readable prose, writing with a wisdom and clarity that comes from great self-reflection and research, but also via the simple act of living." — Emily Urquhart, author of Ordinary Wonder Tales

"Beautiful and moving." — Ayelet Tsabari, author of The Art of Leaving

"At once heartbreakingly honest and defiantly joyful, I Don't Do Disability and Other Lies I've Told Myself is a poetic tribute to the relationships that have shaped Adelle, her family, and their experiences with Down syndrome. Beautiful, deliberate, and thought provoking." — Jen Sookfong Lee, author of Superfan

"A beautifully intimate blend of personal narrative, cultural critique, and sharp-eyed social commentary on disability and motherhood, this stirring debut is lyrical, heartfelt, and uncomfortably...