Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist (Unabridged)
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4.6 • 31 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Tony-award winning actress Ali Stroker reads the story of Judy Heumann—one of the most influential disability rights activists in US history
A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn’t built for all of us and of one woman’s activism—from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington—Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society.
Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people.
As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in San Francisco as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a governmental building in US history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples’ rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
With its clever title, this immersive memoir of one woman’s extraordinary determination captured our attention even before we started listening. Partially paralyzed by polio when she was still an infant, Judith Heumann was all too aware of America’s unfair attitudes toward people with disabilities. The world Heumann grew up in made it nearly impossible for someone in a wheelchair to have a job, travel independently, or even participate in everyday life, so beginning in the 1970s, she became an outspoken champion for change. Like the heroine of a Hollywood biopic—if you haven’t seen the enthralling documentary Crip Camp, put it on your list!—Heumann fought for the legislation that paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Tony Award winner Ali Stroker’s spirited narration will have you cheering for Heumann as she goes up against cruel and dismissive adversaries, testifies before Congress, spearheads the takeover of government buildings, and becomes an unexpected celebrity in the fight for disability rights. Told with the same pluck and defiance that fueled Heumann throughout her life, Being Heumann is a galvanizing listen.
