"The struggles, joys, and political awakening of a firecracker of a narrator. . . . Linton has succeeded in creating a life both rich and enviable. Wholly enjoyable."
—Kirkus Reviews "Witty, original, and political without being politically correct, introducing us to a cast of funny, brave, remarkable characters. . . . By the time Linton tells you about the first time she was dancing in her wheelchair, you will feel like dancing, too."
—Carol Tavris, author of Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion "An outstanding contribution to the understanding and changing status of disabled people in American culture."
—Ragged Edge Magazine "This astonishing book has perfect pitch. . . . With verve and wonder, [Linton] discovers her body's pleasures, hungers, surprises, hurts, strengths, limits, and uses."
—Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, author of Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American Culture and Literature "The story of how [Linton] politicizes herself, how she comes to understand societal attitudes about people with disabilities and how she works to resist and change stereotypes. . . . Linton's memoir is as much a position paper as anything--an argument for seeing disability as a social rather than medical construct."
—Women's Review of Books "A brilliant autobiography and a great read."
—Sander L. Gilman, author of Fat Boys: A Slim Book My Body Politic begins in the midst of the turmoil over Vietnam and concludes with a meditation on the U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq and the war's wounded veterans. While a memoir of the author's gradual political awakening, My Body Politic is filled with adventure, celebration, and rock and roll—Salvador Dali, James Brown, and Jimi Hendrix all make cameo appearances. Linton weaves a tale that shows disability to be an ordinary part of the twists and turns of life and, simultaneously, a unique vantage point on the world. Simi Linton is a prominent activist and author of numerous articles about disability. She holds a Ph.D. from New York University and until 1998 taught at Hunter College. She is author of Claiming Disability: Knowledge and Identity and founder of Disability/Arts, an organization that works with artists and cultural institutions to help shape the presentation of disability in the arts and to increase the representation of works by disabled artists. Linton lives in New York City. Visit the author's website at: www.similinton.com. |
