Footnote on ‘Year of the Tiger’ by Alice Wong

Year of the tiger: An Activist’s Life (Vintage, 2022) by Alice Wong (editor of Disability Visibility) is funny and angry and silly and deadly sobering and so much more. It’s a collection of essays, interviews, and images on subjects ranging from accessible and inviting coffee experiences to the Chinese Lunar New Year, from media representations of disabled people to the… Read more

“Revealing and Rewarding Work of Impressive Scholarship” * ‘There Plant Eyes” Review by Author Lazarus Belle

Every author knows how important reviews are, and although we all like to hate on Amazon, it’s a very good place for finding and publishing public reviews. Of course Goodreads is the other biggie. My friend and fellow author published this thoughtful review of There Plant Eyes (now out in paperback) in both places, and to show my appreciation (and… Read more

Footnote on ‘So Lucky’ by Nicola Griffith

I first read So Lucky (2018) by Nicola Griffith not long after it was published. I remembered loving it and laughing out loud several times. Somehow the darkness and creepiness had slipped my mind. Upon rereading it for this Footnote in honor of Disability Pride Month, I experienced all the feels, as the kids say! Griffith is a fantastic writer… Read more

Footnote on ‘The Plant Hunter’ by Cassandra Leah Quave

The great Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility newsletter hit my inbox last year with a book giveaway of The Plant Hunter: A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Medicines, by Cassandra Leah Quave. It’s not too often that my interest in disability culture crosses with my lay-person’s obsession with plant chemistry, so my curiosity was immediately piqued when I read the blurb… Read more

Footnote on ‘Invisible Child’ by Andrea Elliott

Andrea Elliott was recently announced as the Pulitzer winner in nonfiction for Invisible Child: poverty, survival, and hope in an American city (Random House, 2021). I was honored to have a conversation with her during the Virtual Monster Book Tour for There Plant Eyes. During that conversation and others over the past couple years, we’ve talked about visibility and invisibility.… Read more

Footnote on ‘Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel’ by Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry (Doubleday, 2022) by Bonnie Garmus is funny and charming despite the brutal 1950’s sexism—a sexism which, even if less systematic and unapologetic, will still resonate with most women today. You can’t help but fall in love with Elizabeth Zott, who is hilarious in her seriousness about chemistry, love, family, cooking, and everything else. Ad to the formula… Read more