The freelance journalist and creator of the viral hashtag #DisabledAndCute offers her take on living—and managing to thrive—with cerebral palsy as a black woman in a culture that marginalizes both identities.
Brown is emotionally honest—sometimes devastatingly so—but knows to put readers at ease first with relatable-girlfriend charm and playful, fizzy humor ... Even as Brown delves into race, feminism, rom-coms and red carpets, it is her personal experience of life with disabilities that ties this collection together, giving it an authoritative immediacy, a beauty ... With this engaging and necessary collection, she asks us to think from a deeper place—and gets me to totally smile.
Brown's narrative is a bright and delicious exercise in transparency. Her desire to be beautiful, her angst about not yet knowing romantic love, and her longing for designer clothes intermingle with stark stories about life with cerebral palsy ... All in all, this title details lovingly and unsparingly how Brown's life has sputtered and roared along the way to result in the budding author she is today ... Readers with lives like Brown's will find solace in this debut; others will be similarly moved by her honesty and carbonated wit.
...[an] entertaining, frank, and educational collection of essays ... [Brown] is doing important work by sharing her personal experiences in coming to terms with her disability—and expecting the world to come to terms with it, too. This book would be a great choice for anyone interested in social justice, disability rights, or just interested in learning more about a fun, funny, beautiful woman.
