A review by motormouth95
A Disability History of the United States by Kim E. Nielsen
4.0
I have a Bachelor’s Degree in History, and will most likely start work on a Master's degree in Public History within a year or so. I also have the spastic hemipegia form of Cerebral Palsy, among many other medical issues. Suffice it to say that this book easily ranks among the most important and personal historical nonfiction books I've ever read. I've always thought about what could've happened to me if I had been born only a mere decade before my birth year.
I required years of various forms of therapy and accommodations to get to where I am today. What if I didn't have access to them? What if my job refused to hire me? What if my teachers and professors hadn't looked passed the limp, the occasional stutter, or the jerky movements? I remember learning that people with physical and mental disabilities were among the first to be rounded up and murdered during the Holocaust; obviously, I would've been among them. However, while I wouldn't have been outright killed in the states, I most certainly wouldn't have been able to accomplish what I done.
I owe it all to those who came and fought before me. The fight for truly equal rights for differently abled people is still ongoing. This book has opened my eyes to subfield of American History that I honestly didn't know existed. One that is extremely real for me, one that I live with every second of my life. Without a doubt, this book will be in my top reads for 2023.
The only reason it isn't a 5 star rating is because I wish that it went more in depth. Covering several hundred years of history in less than 200 pages is very difficult to do.
I required years of various forms of therapy and accommodations to get to where I am today. What if I didn't have access to them? What if my job refused to hire me? What if my teachers and professors hadn't looked passed the limp, the occasional stutter, or the jerky movements? I remember learning that people with physical and mental disabilities were among the first to be rounded up and murdered during the Holocaust; obviously, I would've been among them. However, while I wouldn't have been outright killed in the states, I most certainly wouldn't have been able to accomplish what I done.
I owe it all to those who came and fought before me. The fight for truly equal rights for differently abled people is still ongoing. This book has opened my eyes to subfield of American History that I honestly didn't know existed. One that is extremely real for me, one that I live with every second of my life. Without a doubt, this book will be in my top reads for 2023.
The only reason it isn't a 5 star rating is because I wish that it went more in depth. Covering several hundred years of history in less than 200 pages is very difficult to do.