This is an important book if only because it brings neurodiversity into the discourse on disability. Additionally, the chapter on mothering puts this book into the genre of parents writing about mothering (sometimes fathering) their disabled children. Indeed, the author writes lovingly about her experience of mothering Zoey. It is more than simple biography of neurodiversity within the family: it is a disability studies text…. General readers through graduate students; professionals.

Choice Reviews

This book gives us a brilliant and clearly written look into the world of disability and neurodiversity with a combination of scholarship, media savvy, and personal narrative drawn from the author’s life and that of her daughter. Wilson presents up-to-date and nuanced information on these fascinating subjects in a format that is both engaging and meaningful. Highly recommended for those seeking an introduction to the topic and those who know it well.

Lennard Davis, University of Illinois at Chicago

Jan Wilson's Becoming Disabled: Forging a Disability View of the World is a revelation for all of us about how what we learn to think of as the limitations and problems we call disabilities can become a source of understanding and human solidarity that deepens our relationships with one another and strengthens our human bonds. Whether we understand ourselves as people with disabilities or people without these human differences, we all need to know Jan Wilson's personal and family journey from being someone with medical problems to becoming someone who is a part of a culture and community that can sustain all of us.

Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Emory University