Description

A memoir-in-essays from disability advocate and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty, Rebekah Taussig offers a deeply personal and insightful portrait of life in a body that moves and looks different from most.

Growing up as a paralyzed girl in the 1990s and early 2000s, Taussig rarely saw disability represented in ways that felt real or relatable. Instead, it was depicted as tragic, inspirational, or otherworldly—whether in *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*, stories of Helen Keller, or *Forrest Gump*. None of these narratives captured the everyday complexities she experienced, and as she grew older, she longed for stories that portrayed disability as nuanced, ordinary, and multidimensional.

With thoughtfulness and candor, Taussig explores what it means to navigate a world that often isn’t built for her body. She reflects on the contradictions of kindness and charity, the push and pull of independence and dependence, the realities of intimacy, and the pervasive influence of ableism in media and daily life.

Disability touches everyone, whether directly or indirectly, at some point in life. Through lyrical and thought-provoking essays, Taussig highlights the importance of expanding the stories we tell to reflect a more complete picture of humanity. *Sitting Pretty* calls on us to be both compassionate and persistent, practical and imaginative, as we work toward a more inclusive and understanding world.