Reviews of My
Body Politic
Kirkus Reviews
The struggles, joys and political awakening of a firecracker of a narrator
who has spent her adult life in a wheelchair. In 1971, Linton was your
run-of-the-mill countercultural college dropout. But everything changed
while she was hitchhiking to a demonstration against the Vietnam War.
Sideswiped on the interstate, the author was instantly paralyzed, and
her husband and best friend killed. Since that day, Linton has devoted
herself to becoming many things--psychologist, professor, activist--while
steadily refusing to be defined by her disability. It took much of the
past 30-plus years for Linton to evolve from passive patient to professional
woman determined to blend in, to activist in the disability rights movement.
In a work that blends memoir and cultural critique, Linton discusses
the history of disabled people and their marginalization. Long before
she was aware of any kind of cultural context for her disability, Linton
was determined to live her life fully: return to college, achieve a
degree in psychology, live alone, drive a car. And she was seized with
a need to make sense of her changed body, in particular to understand
how her sex life would be affected. With romance in Manhattan, a sojourn
in Berkeley, classes at Columbia and wheelchair dance lessons (taught
by a quadriplegic friend), Linton has succeeded in creating a life both
rich and enviable. With her crackle, irreverence and intelligence, it's
clear that the author would never be willing to settle. Wholly enjoyable.
People magazine
...the disability rights advocate leads an illuminating tour of
the country of the disabled."
Publishers Weekly
"Linton is a passionate guide to a world many outsiders,
and even insiders, find difficult to navigate. … In this volume,
she recounts her personal odyssey, from flower child…to disability-rights/human
rights activist."
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