table of contents - home page - text-only home page Women & Disabilities: It isn't them and us By Mona Hughes (SemiYung@aol.com) As a woman and as a woman with a disability, I have seen successful women who've never had their successes acknowledged. This is true whether the women are non-disabled, living with a disability or caring for disabled loved ones. I wrote this book, Women and Disabilities: it isn't them and us, for me and any woman with a disability - to let us all know that we are capable and worthwhile, and deserve to feel good about ourselves. I hope it will help us to see that having a disability is not equal to being a failure in any sense. I need this message as much as any woman. The book does give some facts about our lives, including the downside of being disabled in a world that would prefer to ignore the fact that everyone has the opportunity to join our ranks. But I also profile about a dozen women, presenting their lives in light of their accomplishments. I hope women (and men if they will read it) will see the positive nature of the book and gain a feeling of the value women have in society. We are not just a perfect size four with a beautiful face or other attributes that attract lovers or sell a product. Instead, we are the whole of our beings, our experiences, and even our negative or positive feelings about ourselves. We each have an effect on all we meet in some way . . . we don't live in a vacuum, but interact with our world in many ways. For those who think, "I could not survive if I had that disability," I would say you are wrong and the survival of the person with that disability is the proof of that fact. The title, Women and Disabilities: it isn't them and us, points out that almost all women are or will be involved in the disability community in some way at some point in their lives. More Information: Published in April 2000, information available at http://ladybugbooks.com/disabilities 120 pages, priced at $18.95 plus $5 for shipping & handling. Can be ordered through website or mail at: Ladybug Press, 751 Laurel Street PMB 223, San Carlos, CA 94070. An audiotape of the book is in preparation. Hughes also writes for www.AccessLife.com table of contents - home page - text-only home page