A review by thedisabledreader
Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Judith Heumann is an integral part of disabled history. Having her story compiled into one memoir is an invaluable resource for those interested in a first hand account of the many changes and challenges faced by the disabled community throughout her lifetime. Her memoir is a great place to start learning about ableism and its legal impacts on disabled lives, for disabled and nondisabled people alike. 

The issues she worked on are all thoroughly explained in a manner accessible to nondisabled people. The fight for the implementation of section 504 has its complexities and impacts analyzed as do many other values she fought for. Although many impacts and idiosyncrasies of being disabled were not fully explored, every observation and impact is explained at its surface to then be dug into its core importance to the community.

Her participation within the disabled community, especially as demonstrated through her experience at camp and within her advocacy groups, provides an accurate description of the power and bonding within the very diverse community. The basis of disabled culture is founded on widespread acceptance which allows for the diversity within the community to be properly supported by every member despite their differences. 

Despite the strength of the community, nondisabled people often ignore the community’s impact on other movements and society. With such ignorance running rampant throughout history, there has never been proper representation for disabled people in any form of media that wasn’t created by other disabled folks. The dilemma spirals into disabled people not being able to access the creations made for them because nondisabled people don’t engage with it to promote it. Disabled people have found other ways to cultivate our culture and nurture each other within the community. 

The disabled community is nothing if not resilient and inclusive. With the foundation of an identity being formed by acceptance and diversity, intersectionality is always welcomed, making the community welcoming to all. The safety people find in the community provides the opportunity for them to grow their strength from others, propelling them to advocate for themselves and others within and out of the community. Intersectional connection is displayed appropriately in the depiction of the 504 sit ins, as well as the community’s strength and impact.

The memoir focuses heavily on her experience with the 504 protests and
implementation, and although it does make the pacing uneven, it deserves the extended coverage, especially considering her leadership positions throughout the process. The uneven distribution of her story causes the last section to be much too rushed, but the information and opinions presented are valuable lessons people need to learn nonetheless. The latter section also contrasts the dialect littered with, well deserved, cussing to the expository writing which finds itself to be immature at times.

Although the sentences are occasionally choppy or immature in context, it still encapsulates her experience and the emotions tied to it. It also accomplishes what very few memoirs do, growing with the subject throughout their life. It covers her experiences at a young age with the mature depth that she lacked at the time while still showing her younger self empathy and love. As the writing develops with her, it continues to bring the reader along while still appropriately defining itself to its modern audience of disabled and nondisabled folks.

Disabled life has progressed so far throughout her life, but it has not come far enough. The disabled community is strong and accepting, but it still suffers from the ignorance of nondisabled people. This is just the start, and there are many more disabled narratives to read. 

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