As a woman with cerebral palsy and Asperger's syndrome, who wants to advocate for inclusion and rights, I've sought more disability memoir and voices lately. Keah Brown jumped out at me as one to try, partially because we have the same physical disability and partially because we're not the same in many ways. I'm white, cis, straight, and fairly conservative; she's Black, queer, and (it seems) fairly liberal (which, most people still think equal access for the disabled is liberal, so there you go). But even if Keah and I had been racial, sexual, and ideological twins, I still would've loved her book.
First of all, I want to commend Keah for combining the disability experience with her own experiences as a Black and LGBT+ woman. Her essays capture a truth I've tried to explain to people for over a year--that intersectionality is not a bad word. It simply means people's experiences can and do *intersect.* Keah has found she is her only representation right now; as a woman with CP and Asperger's together, I am sometimes my only representation too, because the ideal white woman is not one who also processes the world with physical and social differences. Keah's skin and body have set her apart from others; my body and brain have done the same, to the point that people assume things like, she's stuck up, she has no social skills or compassion for others, her skills are only "splinter skills." I will never fully know what it is to be Black, but I hope Keah and I could still speak and connect on various levels.
I also enjoyed how Keah applied the disability lens to everyday life, on topics from sibling relationships to religion to interactions with law enforcement, caregivers, and others who may mean well, but who basically look at disabled people through a lens that says, "I need to have control over this group because they are different." Keah's essay on religion, cure, and the murder of disabled people by their caregivers was in particular a positive punch to the solar plexus. As in, I knew these murders happened, and I knew they got almost no attention. But to have them happen in multiples every week? To have Christians, members of my own tribe, either condone the murders or be the perps, because their "faith" said death was the only hope for the disabled? Finally, somebody is talking about this! It was nothing short of heartbreaking but validating to know I'm not the only one who knows, questions, or cares.
That's not to say The Pretty One is a gloom and doom book, although as I find with most books like these, I did have to take it in small doses because it is so real and raw. Actually, Keah follows through great on her promise of a relatable, humorous, and uplifting book. The Disability Be Gone anecdote was a favorite, because while I haven't been to that "store" the same way Keah has, I certainly have patronized it and struggled with its existence. Bits like that, as well as the cadence of Keah's voice and the immediacy of her experiences, keep the pages turning.
If I were really going to split hairs, I might call The Pretty One a 4.75, simply because some of the essays, especially at the beginning, are really long. Then again, I write long pieces, too, so I won't fault another writer for the same thing. Overall, I'd say snap up a copy, learn, and enjoy.
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A must read for 2019!
I read the advance copy of The Pretty One and the book is a breath of fresh air. Keah Brown is an inspired and brilliant writer using her own life’s story to she did light on larger social issues. A must read!
