At some point last year I wrote that I wanted to read more books with disabled or chronically ill characters in them, and I posted a preliminary post with five different books. Since then, I have read several more and thought it was about time I shared them with you. So here are four disabled and chronic illness book recommendations
As someone who is chronically ill, I feel like there is such limited and inaccurate representation of chronic illnesses in most of the media we consume, including film and books. Yet it is so important to be able to read books in which our experiences are represented, and to read books in which we can learn about others’ experiences in a very intimate way. And this is why I like getting book recommendations that include disabled or chronically ill characters, with relatable stories. Many of these recommendations are teenager or young adult fiction, which seems to be the category where I’ve found the most representation of chronic illness.
Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz
This tells the story of Ibby, a teenager with rheumatoid arthritis, who meets Sasha Sverdlov-Deckler, who has a non-fatal form of Gaucher’s disease, in the infusion centre of a hospital. They bond over the fact that they are Jewish, young and sick.
Whilst the story follows very much the direction you would expect it to, the author writes so well about friendship and illness. We see Ibby’s group of well-intentioned, but clearly healthy, group of school friends and her exclusion from so many things in ways that the other characters probably wouldn’t understand. At the same time, through Ibby’s growing friendship with Sasha, we see the importance of having sick friends, and we watch her journey to accepting and standing up for her own needs.
Whilst some characters in this book felt a little two dimensional, I related so strongly to a lot of Ibby’s experiences as a young chronically ill person, and I felt like the chronic illness representation was spot on, so I would highly recommend this book.
Every Little Piece of my Heart by Non Pratt
Freya, the outgoing, popular girl at school who seemed to have it all, left suddenly, without making contact with anyone, not even her best friend Sophie. Six months later, Sophie receives a package from Freya. Inside her package is another package that she must give to a girl at her school. Each layer of the package is addressed to a different person. The story is told through each of the four characters who gets a package addressed to them. Throughout the story we watch as the characters meet each other, uncover and unravel secrets about Freya, who didn’t seem to have her life as much together as she appeared.
Each of these characters has an interesting story and the representation in this book is quite strong, on many fronts. But it is with Sophie that the story begins and ends, and she happens to have Lupus. What I love about this book is that Sophie’s lupus is not the main plot of the book, but it is very much present in the story. We see her dealing with the pain and fatigue that comes with being sick, talking about medications and caring for herself in a way none of the other teenagers has to. But at the same time, we see her dealing with the same things as other teenagers: social status, friendships, and even navigating her first lesbian romance, because whilst being sick, she is also just another kid.
Non Pratt is not actually chronically ill herself but I think she has done an excellent job of portraying life as someone with a chronic illness, and for those who like young adult fiction this book makes a fun read.
Hope by Rhian Ivory
Hope tells the story of Hope, who didn’t get into her dream drama college in Dublin. It is the summer between school and sixth form and she is grieving for her father, struggling with a loss of confidence and also struggling, very intensely, with her periods. Her anger and other emotions are getting out of control and she feels as if everything is crumbling.
A chance encounter with a young man the boat back from her failed audition, and the friendship of someone employed at the hospital where Hope works for the summer, help Hope find ways to express and understand her feelings – and she eventually ends up getting diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysphoria Disorder (PMDD).
Something I find very special about this book is the way that it portrays the uncontrollable emotions that come alongside PMDD: anger, the need to kick or slam things, expressions of emotion that we don’t usually see in female characters, and emotions that are heavily stigmatised for women, yet very real symptoms of PMDD. This book also demonstrates very clearly the turbulence of relationships for people with mental illnesses, or PMDD.
This is a book that I haven’t seen recommended by too many other chronically ill bloggers, and I think that is a shame because this book is fantastic, and very comforting for people who struggle with their emotions around their periods.
Sitting Pretty by Rebekah Taussig
I read this book on a train trip back from Germany when all the accessibility services I had spent hours putting in place had fallen through, and it couldn’t have been better timing.
This is the memoirs of disabled advocate @sittingpretty who is processing a lifetime of navigating the world in a disabled body. Taussig grew up in the 1990s and 2000s, paralyzed, with the only disabled representation around her fitting into three categories: monstrous, inspirational and angelic, none of which resonated with her. She craved more complicated, nuanced depictions of life as a disabled person. And that is exactly what her reflections give.
This book gives such a simple and clear insight into how complicated it is living in a world not designed for your body: from missing out on swimming parties as a little girl, to believing that you are not worthy of love, so marrying the first person interested in you, to the difficulty of people being too kind, and of charity. Taussig shows the real impact that ableism has on somebody when they are faced with it day in and day out.
As Taussig points out, the message that disabled people often get from the world – and I will add, particularly, during the pandemic – is that disabled people are just not thought about. And yet disabled people make up more than 25% of the population. So I really think this book should be a must read for everyone, as it gently, but concisely, reminds people that disabled people exist, and that really needs to be remembered!
I really, really cannot recommend this book enough if you want to understand what it is like to be disabled, or if you are disabled and want a relatable, nuanced experience of life.
Book recommendations
I am always on the lookout for book recommendations that feature either queer, disabled, or ethically non-monogomous characters, so if you have any, please leave them in the comments or dm me, as I really enjoy doing these book round-ups!
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