Book Review: Against Technoableism by Ashley Shew
[ID: A bright yellow book with a green border and illustrated images of disability including vans, eyes, hands, hearing aids, limbs, and more in shades of pink, purple, and green. The book sits on sheafs of paper on a gray wooden floor. 3 stickers surround the book with bright yellow carnations. One sticker has a cat on it and a print saying “Ableism sucks”. One sticker has a sword and the words “Chronic Warrior”. The last sticker is of an orange cat sitting on a wheelchair. A purple and green ribbon circles the book with small purple rocks scattered around.]
As soon as I saw the title of AGAINST TECHNOABLEISM (releasing Sept 19) I knew I had to read it! Thank you to the publisher for an early copy!
When I first started my Bookstagram I had no idea that it would inspire me to learn more about disability justice and introduce me to an entire community. I’ve been fortunate to read some amazing books in the past few years that have truly changed my life and changed the way I view the world. AGAINST TECHNOABLEISM is one of those life-changing books!
At only about 150 pages and only 6 chapters, AGAINST TECHNOABLEISM packs a surprising punch. It’s compulsively readable and tackles SO MANY topics with laser sharp precision. Each chapter was a revelation to me. The sections include but are not limited to disability identity and disability history from a disability-led, disability forward point of view, an examination and a rebuttal on disability tropes or myths, details about the author’s experience with physical disability and cyborg-life, neurodiversity and the roots of eugenics in our current medical and charity landscape, and a look at the accessible future.
This book is at its best when the author places other disabled scholars and writers in conversation with each other, building a web of interconnectivity, shared knowledge, and community. Just when I thought I had absorbed the best of this book, I read another gem and found something else to ponder. My ARC is (no exaggeration) 90% highlights right now.
Even though I’ve been studying disability justice on my own time for multiple years now, I still had NO IDEA about so many things in this book like the connection between factory and farm life with our cultural conception of disability, the continued legacy of eugenics, and the horrific realities of so-called “therapies” for neurodivergent people.
The chapter on neurodiversity has especially stuck with me to the point where I can’t get it out of my head but every page of this book has immense value for disabled and non-disabled people alike. Even though it discusses deep subjects, it’s so well-written that it never feels like a chore to read.
I’ve already preordered a copy of this book for every medical professional or aspiring student in my life because you all NEED to read it. It is simply life-changing and the medical field in particular needs a paradigm shift ASAP to center the experiences, knowledge, and worth of disabled people. Please, please go pick up a copy of this book for yourself and start the change!