During Disability Pride Month, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is committed to highlighting and celebrating the diverse experiences and contributions of individuals with disabilities. We recognize this month as an opportunity to raise awareness, promote acceptance, and advocate for the rights of people with disabilities.
Throughout July, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will amplify the identities of those with visible and invisible disabilities. Check out the titles on this list or find displays in your neighborhood libraries to discover more options!
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If you’re looking for more book suggestions, we’re happy to recommend them to you! Use this Book Recommendation form to send us some information about what you like to read and we’ll curate a list just for you.
If you have any additional questions, you can contact a librarian through Facebook, Instagram or X (Twitter). You can also call us at 412-622-3114 or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org.
After a near-death experience, socially-awkward techie Chloe uses her proclivity for list making to set thrilling goals and turns to an alluring handyman for rebellious mentorship. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby, as eBook on Hoopla or as eAudio on Hoopla.
True biz (adj./exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talk
This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. Absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
PhD candidate Gifty is studying neuroscience in an effort to understand her family’s struggles with depression and addiction. At the same time, she feels drawn to the faith in which she was raised. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
A memoir-in-essays from disability advocate and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty Rebekah Taussig, processing a lifetime of memories to paint a beautiful, nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most.
Disability affects all of us, directly or indirectly, at one point or another. By exploring this truth in poignant and lyrical essays, Taussig illustrates the need for more stories and more voices to understand the diversity of humanity. “Sitting Pretty” challenges us as a society to be patient and vigilant, practical and imaginative, kind and relentless, as we set to work to write an entirely different story. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby, as eBook on Hoopla or as eAudio on Hoopla.
A groundbreaking collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience: “Disability Visibility” brings together the voices of activists, authors, lawyers, politicians, artists, and everyday people whose daily lives are, in the words of playwright Neil Marcus, “an art . . . an ingenious way to live.” According to the last census, one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some are visible, some are hidden–but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
Summary: Online, Elliott’s life looks perfect, but he struggles with addictions to alcohol and sex and is fighting shame about his cerebral palsy. As he hits bottom he finds the strength to start the climb back up.
eFormats available: This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby.
Summary: A life change that left Ashley Shew with chronic and visible effects to her health made her suddenly aware of the societal weirdnesses that the disabled deal with daily. In this book she points the way toward a better world for everyone by eliminating technoableism and making accessibility a priority for all aspects of life.
eFormats available: none
Summary: In Riva Lehrer’s illustrated memoir, she brings her life to life, as a child with spina bifida in a time when those with her condition were not expected to thrive or survive, and into her journey to becoming an artist and finding connection in the world.
eFormats available: This title is also available for checkout in eAudio on Libby.
The first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School recounts her challenges and adventures, from childhoods spent in her family’s homeland of Eritrea to climbing icebergs to forging new paths to communication and accessibility. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby.
Summary: In her collection of essays, Wang unpacks the stigma around psychosis and schizophrenia in society and education and talks about her journey as a schizophrenic.
eFormats available: This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby.
Dr. Devon Price shares his personal experience with masking and blends history, social science research, prescriptions, and personal profiles to tell a story of neurodivergence that has thus far been dominated by those on the outside looking in. You can also check out this title as an eBook or eAudio on Libby.
Summary: Piepzna-Samarasinha looks toward the future in this collection of essays and imagines issues that might arise when more and more of the population becomes disabled, and offers a tough and loving vision of love and care for disabled people—a rethinking of how we view disability.
eFormats available: This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Hoopla, in eAudio on Libby and in eAudio on Hoopla.
Stella launches a faux relationship which ends up becoming real much to the enjoyment of the participants and readers alike.