Not-So-Scary Halloween Reads for Kids

October 27, 2025October 21, 2025 / Lauren / 1 Comment

Now that the temperatures have dropped, I’m kicking my horror obsession into high gear. I’m going through my Audible audiobook purchases and listening to anything remotely paranormal, and I’m watching as many delightfully flawed 1970s horror films as I can find on my streaming services. The rest of my household, though, isn’t quite on board with my level of horror. My four-year-old gets up and starts to leave the room during particularly tense moments of Sofia the First. My two-year-old cries when he wakes up at 6:30am and it’s still dark.

Even though they’re not ready for it, my kids are still drawn to the spooky stuff. They’re fascinated by ghosts and skeletons. We’re a long way off from listening to the Spooked podcast together, but they can handle the horror equivalent of a balance bike and a sturdy helmet. These are some of the not-so-scary titles we’ve been enjoying this fall, in no particular order.

Leo: A Ghost Story written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson (2015)

Leo is a little ghost who finds himself unwanted and unappreciated by his house’s new (living) residents, so he decides to wander the city and discovers a lasting friendship. Mac Barnett is one of my favorite authors to read out loud, and Robinson’s signature cutout-style illustrations are adorable with just the barest hint of spookiness from the blue color palette.

The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen (2023)

You’ll recognize Klassen’s signature monochromatic palette and impactfully sparse prose from picture books like I Want My Hat Back. The Skull is a more substantial chapter book about a girl who runs away from home and befriends – you guessed it – a skull. Both my kids adore this book, which has a creepy-not-scary vibe and takes 15 to 20 minutes to read out loud. Even my two-year-old will sit for the whole thing. As for me, I have been haunted by the story’s unanswered questions that don’t seem to cross the kids’ minds. (If you’ve read Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, you know what I mean.)

There’s a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers (2021)

Here’s another picture book for kids obsessed with ghosts. This one follows a girl around her house as she looks for the ghosts that supposedly live in her house. She can’t seem to see them – but the reader can, with help from transparent pages that overlay the old-fashioned photographs of rooms. It’s a clever and entertaining book that we’ve been re-reading from cover to cover. (I mean it. You only get the full story if you look at the endpapers.)

In a Dark, Dark Room: And Other Scary Stories retold by Alvin Schwartz, illustrated by Dirk Zimmer (1984)’

You probably read this classic book yourself as a kid, or had somebody read it to you. Are the stories as satisfying as Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark? No, but this smaller tome won’t accidentally give your kids nightmares if you pick the wrong story. (Not that I know from experience or anything. Cough cough.) My two-year-old lights up with anticipation of the jump scare I insert at the end of the title story.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Brett Helquist (2009)

There’s a tradition in the UK of telling ghost stories at Christmas, and what better story to turn to than the GOAT of Christmas ghost stories? The illustrations are what make this book work. You’ll recognize the style of Brett Helquist from the gloomy covers of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The prose seems to go over my kids’ heads, but as an adult it’s loads of fun to read Scrooge’s dialogue aloud and give it the weight of King Lear mourning the dead Cordelia.

Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago (2020)

If you thought Leo was cute, then Gustavo might take the cake – or rather, pan de muerto. Gustavo is too shy to talk to the other monster kids, so he decides to put on a violin concert instead. It’s a relatable story in beautiful colors inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration. Fans of the movie Coco will enjoy the color palette and musical theme, but this sweet picture book thankfully won’t require adults to grab a tissue. (Not that I know from experience or anything. Cough cough.)

Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker (2019)

My four-year-old knows the creepy stuff is out there. To scratch the itch that the cute ghost stories can’t satisfy, we’ve been dabbling in some middle-grade books like Scary Stories for Young Foxes. It’s a series of interconnected stories about two juvenile foxes and the horrors they endure as they try to get back to their families. There’s a beloved teacher who turns rabid, a murderous father, and a terrifying take on a classic children’s author. Nothing is gratuitous, though, and it all builds to a satisfying ending. If you’ve been reading Hansel and Gretel with nary a nightmare, it might be worth a try.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2008)

We’re also giving a try to this middle-grade book authored by dark fantasy master Neil Gaiman. It’s the story of Bod, a boy who is raised from infancy by the inhabitants of a graveyard after his family is killed. Despite the gloomy premise, the fantasy elements outweigh the horror parts; readers of Gaiman’s adult works like Norse Mythology will be familiar with the tone. And each chapter is episodic like Scary Stories for Young Foxes, making it a good match for younger attention spans.

Make Your Voice Count in the Upcoming Election

October 14, 2025October 11, 2025 / Lauren / Leave a comment

In case you haven’t noticed the candidate yard signs scattered among the scarecrow and skeleton decorations, it is voting season here in Cheshire. In a couple weeks, eligible residents will get to cast their vote on 22 positions including Town Clerk, Town Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Board of Education. There are also seven referendum questions covering funding of road improvements, construction of a town splash pad, a new fire truck, and improvements at the high school. This is an excellent opportunity to get your voice heard and directly shape the community you live in!

If you’re a little confused on how, where, and when to vote, we’re here to demystify the process.

Step 1: Make sure you can vote

Are you eligible to vote? U.S. citizens living in Connecticut who will be 18 years or older on election day (and who are not currently incarcerated on a convicted felony) are eligible to vote in the town of their residence. The CT Secretary of the State has excellent details on voter eligibility, as well as general information for voters.

Step 2: Register to vote

Not registered? you can 1) complete an application in-person at Town Hall, here at the Library, or at the DMV; 2) grab a blank application from one of those locations and mail it to Town Hall at 84 S Main St, Cheshire, CT 06410 by Friday, October 17; or 3) register online. If you need help navigating the process, don’t hesitate to call the Registrars of Voters at 203-271-6680 or stop by their office at Town Hall.

If you wait until the last minute, same-day registration is available on election day at Town Hall. The lines can get long, so it’s recommended only as a last resort.

Already registered? You can use the online Voter Registration Lookup tool at any time to check your registration status, party affiliation (if any), and your polling location.

Step 3: Find out what you’re voting on with a sample ballot

Now that you’re registered, it’s time to see what you’ll be voting on. Every address in town has an assigned voting district, and every voting district has a slightly different ballot. Find your 2025 voting district by locating your street address on this chart. According to this chart, if I lived at the library, I would be in District 7.

Now that you know your district, you can view your 2025 sample ballots on the Cheshire Elections webpage. Scroll down and click to see your full sample ballot. These are exactly the choices you’ll see when you go to vote.

Step 4: Research your ballot choices

You’ll notice from your sample ballot that there are lots of choices. How do you learn about the candidates and the issues that are important to them? A great starting place is going to the political party town committees. The Republican candidates are profiled by office on the Cheshire Republican Town Committee website, and you can get bios of the Democratic candidates on the Cheshire Democratic Town Committee website. These websites are as close to one-stop shopping as you’ll get for voting information.

You can also do an old-fashioned google search for candidates. Many of them have Facebook pages, and some have news articles or other mentions.

As for the seven referendum questions, the town put out an explanatory text so you can know a little more about what you’re voting for.

Step 5: Decide on your voting method

Now that you (hopefully) have an idea of how you’ll vote, it’s time to actually vote! You have the choice of voting on election day in-person, voting early in-person, or mailing in an absentee ballot.

To vote on election day, bring yourself and your identification to your designated polling place on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between 6am and 8pm. As long as you’re in line by 8pm, you’re covered!

To vote early, bring yourself and your ID to the Council Chambers at Town Hall from Monday, October 20 to Sunday, November 2, 2025. Early voting hours are 10am to 6pm, with extended hours of 8am to 8pm on October 28th and 30th. Last year was the first time we Connecticans had the ability to vote early, and it’s a welcome option that’s here to stay.

Under special circumstances, you may be eligible to vote by absentee ballot. You can apply online, by mail, or in-person at the Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall.

Do you need accommodations to help you vote in-person? You have options, including using a ballot marking device, bringing or requesting an assistant, curbside voting, and having a line placeholder if you can’t stand for long periods.

Do you need transportation to your polling place? Please reach out to either the Democratic or Republican town committees. No matter your party affiliation or how you intend to vote, they will help you get to the polls!

Do you have other questions or concerns? Contact the Registrars of Voters, who oversee municipal elections and ensure the integrity of the voting process. We have two elected Registrars – one from each political party – and two deputy registrars. They would love to help you exercise your constitutional right!

With no representatives or presidents on the ballot, it may not feel like a big year, but municipal elections still have a big impact on your community. And with early voting and multiple ways to register, it’s easier than ever to get your voice heard!

The Top 100 Films of All Time

September 29, 2025September 23, 2025 / Susan O. / 1 Comment

What makes a fantastic film? You might as well ask what makes a good red wine, or abstract painting, or an attractive face.

Not every blockbuster is a “quality” film, and certainly not every “quality” film is a blockbuster. Some films are held in high regard, but are so “artsy” that it can be difficult to enjoy them (Eraserhead). Some movies are wildly popular (Die Hard), but hated by critics. A film can have a great script, but bad director, or a great director but the worst possible actor (Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough). Sometimes the special effects are awful (Howard the Duck, and let’s not forget the unfinished production on Cats). Sometimes the budget is practically zero (the $400,000 budget of Monty Python and the Holy Grail was partially financed by the rock bands Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Jethro Tull), while others have tremendous budgets and huge followings and are so awful they still fail (Solo, A Star Wars Story had a budget of $250 million and couldn’t break even—how can you lose with Star Wars?). When all these things come together—a good story, good writing, good actors, good directors, good marketing, and sometimes good timing (even Lilo and Stitch had to be retrofitted because of a plane and building scene right after 9/11)—you can hit a home run clear out of the park.

Obviously, everyone has different tastes. Porky’s is my go-to when I need a stupid laugh. Yeah, it’s not high-brow. Forty years later, I still don’t understand the humor in Ghostbusters. 2001: A Space Odyssey is an incredibly beautiful movie, far ahead of its time, but with zero dialogue for the first 20 minutes, and I think it’s one of the most boring movies I’ve ever seen. I have endlessly tried to understand the hoopla of Blade Runner, read all the discussion on it, and I’m still missing the genius. I’ll just agree it’s an important film, and carry on. My favorite romance movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark—not generally on any romance list.

So, anyone trying to pick the top 100 films of all time is truly facing an endeavor in futility, whether you’re the American Film Institute or a bunch of friends at dinner. I gathered results from eight different polls, and tried to tabulate the results. AFI, no surprise, is a bit snooty and prefers their films pre-1950, and doesn’t care much for popularity or genre films. Rotten Tomatoes focuses on user recommendation and critic reviews. Empire Online focuses more on popularity, artistic merit, and cultural impact. IMDB uses user ratings. British Film Institute includes far more foreign-language films than we get exposure to, with the ratings of more than 1600 critics, academics, and curators. Sight & Sound, which is run by the Criterion Channel, uses more than 1500 critics choices. Overall, drama far outweighed comedies, and musicals and animated films were few all around.

How many of these have you seen? Which ones would you recommend?

1. 12 Angry Men

2. 2001 a Space Odyssey

3. 400 Blows

4. Alien

5. All About Eve

6. All the President’s Men

7. Annie Hall

8. Apocalypse Now

9. Battle of Algiers

10. Battleship Potemkin

11. Beau Travail

12. Bicycle Thieves

13. Blade Runner

14. Bonnie and Clyde

15. Breathless

16. Bringing Up Baby

17. Brokeback Mountain

18. Casablanca

19. Chinatown

20. Citizen Kane

21. City Lights

22. Close Up (1990)

23. Do The Right Thing

24. Double Indemnity

25. Dr. Strangelove

26. Duck Soup

27. ET

28. Fellowship of the Ring

29. Forrest Gump

30. Get Out

31. Godfather

32. Godfather II

33. Gone with the Wind

34. Goodfellas

35. In the Mood For Love (2000)

36. Intolerance

37. It Happened One Night

38. It’s a Wonderful Life

39. Jaws

40. Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

41. King Kong

42. Lawrence of Arabia

43. M

44. Mad Max Fury Road

45. Maltese Falcon

46. Metropolis

47. Modern Times

48. Moonlight

49. Mulholland Drive

50. Nashville

51. Network

52. North By Northwest

53. On the Waterfront

54. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

55. Parasite

56. Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

57. Pather Panchali

58. Persona

59. Psycho

60. Pulp Fiction

61. Raging Bull

62. Raiders of the Lost Ark

63. Rashomon

64. Rear Window

65. Rules of the Game

66. Saving Private Ryan

67. Schindler’s list

68. Seven Samurai

69. Shawshank Redemption

70. Silence of the Lambs

71. Singing in the Rain

72. Some Like it Hot

73. Sound of Music

74. Spirited Away

75. Star Wars: A New Hope

76. Sunrise: Song of Two Humans

77. Sunset Boulevard

78. Taxi Driver

79. The Dark Knight

80. The General

81. The Searchers

82. The Shining

83. Titanic

84. Tokyo Story

85. Toy Story

86. Vertigo

87. Wizard of Oz

88. American Graffiti

89. Cabaret

90. A Clockwork Orange

91. French Connection

92. The Empire Strikes Back

93. Easy Rider

94. The Deer Hunter

95. MASH

96. Platoon

97. Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse

98. No Country for Old Men

99. Up

100. West Side Story (original)

Just to push myself, I tried, tried to pick my 100 top films, but couldn’t get further than 50. Do I pick the ones I’ve watched the most times (Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan)? Do I pick the ones I think are technically perfect (Casablanca)? Do I pick the ones I felt most deeply? (I cried for two hours after Edward Scissorhands) The most mind-bending (Dr. Strange)? Something sentimental I remember from childhood (The Poseidon Adventure)? It becomes too difficult to choose. So, these are the first ten films I’d pick to be stranded on a desert island with (assuming I had the means to watch them) (and I’d prefer more):

The Road Warrior

Serenity (2005)

Rogue One

Casino Royale (2006)

Casablanca

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Lord of the Rings

The French Connection

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Terminator 2

Recent Reads for Hesitant Historians

September 15, 2025September 11, 2025 / Lauren / 1 Comment

I am surrounded by history lovers. My husband is a history professor who uses me as a sounding board when he’s talking through new articles. A good friend does deep dives into English monarchs, and she shares memes that mash current events together with Medieval art. And I have to confess: I have no idea what they’re talking about.

I’m very useful when you want to assemble some IKEA furniture, or if you want to differentiate between an American crow and a common raven, but listening to me explain the American Revolution is like watching an episode of Drunk History (and sadly, without the negronis). I don’t dislike history. It’s just that the kind of history you get in school – politics, wars, rich people – does nothing for me. What I want is an exhibit of decorative arts, a reconstructed peasant house, a display of medical instruments. Maps of migrations laid over topography or ecological changes. A poster. A piece of metal. I want something that’s alive with meaning and has a story to tell.

If a relaxing evening involves hooks, needles, or rippers:

Threads of Empire: A History of the World in Twelve Carpets by Dorothy Armstrong (2025)

I can’t get through biographies of monarchs, but give me a book on how their clothing was constructed and I will drink it up like a chocolate fountain in Versailles. Threads of Empire tickles the same part of me that loves dresses and chain mail at art museums. This isn’t just about who owned history’s beautiful rugs, but the people that made them, the materials and techniques they were working with, and what was going on in their world.

Related read:

Silk: A World History by Aarathi Prasad (2024)

This is another great read that takes a close look at how a prized textile is made, then zooms out to examine its place in time and geography.

If you never got past your childhood fascination with pirates:

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann (2023)

We’re attracted to stories of things gone wrong, whether it’s hikes or music festivals. As you can guess from the subtitle of this book, there are quite a few things that went wrong with the HMS Wager in 1741. This is a true crime novel, a survival tale, and a look into 18th century British naval life – did you know expeditions routinely sailed with dedicated scientists on board? – with a little dusting of world politics. Grann crafts an engaging narrative well worth the hype.

If you can’t get enough of the British Navy, you can circumnavigate again with Hampton Sides’ bestseller from last year. Sides’ narrative doesn’t move with the same momentum as Grann’s book, but it’s a voyage well worth taking.

If you can’t look away from technological disasters:

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham (2024)

Nobody synthesizes story and science quite like Adam Higginbotham. Last year he released this book on the Challenger space shuttle, which exploded during liftoff in 1986. He’s on par with the best thriller writers in terms of building suspense, and he’s just as adept at breaking down complex engineering concepts.

This book has haunted me: not only in its emotional impact, but in how amazing it is that we’ve accomplished space travel at all. It compelled me to make a pilgrimage to the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan to get an up-close look at the Enterprise, the very first orbiter NASA made for the space shuttle program.

Higginbotham is making quite a name for himself writing about 1980s technological disasters. His award-winning debut focused on the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, and it’s just as good (and horrifying) as Challenger.

If you’re a news junkie:

Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary by Victoria Amelina (2025)

“I have just bought my first gun in downtown Lviv,” starts the diary of this Ukrainian novelist and mother turned war documenter. Amelina’s diary tells the story of how she and other women – librarians, lawyers, writers – were experiencing the war in Ukraine and participating in the resistance. She was killed by a Russian missile in 2023, and this book collects her unedited and uncompleted notes. It’s a chilling reminder that her life was suddenly cut short at 37 years old.

Related read:

Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Aleksievich (2017)

Alexievich is well-known for her oral histories of the Soviet Union, and this book is an accessible look at how people in Russia experienced the fall of the Soviet period and the emergence of a new Russia. The experiences and viewpoints are as diverse as if you’d selected a random group of Americans and asked them how they viewed the 2024 election. If you’re looking to understand modern Russia, this is a really great place to start.

If David Attenborough narrates your inner thoughts:

The Beast in the Clouds: The Roosevelt Brothers’ Deadly Quest to Find the Mythical Giant Panda by Nathalia Holt (2025)

Can you imagine a world in which people think pandas are imaginary creatures? Apparently, it was only a century ago. This book chronicles the sons of Teddy Roosevelt (who lent his name to a different type of bear) as they explored the Himalayan mountains in search of this very real animal.

Related read:

Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life by Jason Roberts (2024)

You’ve probably heard of Carl Linnaeus, one of the most famous Enlightenment-era catalogers of the natural world. But have you heard of mathematician and fellow naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon? There are reasons for one man’s obscurity and the other’s fame, Roberts argues, including the convenience of Linnaeus’ theories of racial hierarchies and Leclerc’s aristocratic status (probably not the best thing to be in 1780s France).

If you’re fascinated by architecture and buildings:

Twelve Churches: An Unlikely History of the Buildings That Made Christianity by Fergus Butler-Gallie (2025)

Butler-Gallie presents a fun and often funny history of the world’s largest religion by focusing on twelve buildings in particular. You’ll visit an amazing church complex in Ethiopia that was carved into volcanic rock with medieval tools, Japan at the cusp of its isolationist Edo period, and the site of a tragic bombing during the Civil Rights movement. Religion is a fascinating way to view world history, and this book has something for everyone regardless of your personal faith.

Related read:

The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss (2024)

From the publisher: “Evan Friss’s history of the bookshop draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, catalogs, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many–not just as a merchant, but as a gathering place for like-minded people who cherish books.”

If you held onto your science textbooks from college:

Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women’s Health by J. C. Hallman (2023)

If you enjoyed Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks or the many fistulas in Mary Roach’s Gulp, then this one is for you. Modern gynecology and obstetrics are relatively recent innovations, and their development was due to experimentation on poor and enslaved women, such as Anarcha. This books covers what we know about her, including her life beyond the operating table.

Imagine you’re a young woman who just found a great-paying job painting glowing watch faces in Waterbury. Now, imagine you and your coworkers start getting too sick to work – and your employers try to paint you as a promiscuous partier. This is the horrifying true story of the radium girls, factory workers in the early 20th century who were exposed to radioactive material while business owners looked the other way. It’s also the story of the uphill battle for worker protections and safety standards.

And another one just for fun:

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn (1980)

Instead of a triumphant story of great mens’ achievements, Zinn’s history looks at everyday people, such as workers in early factories, immigrants, women, native Americans, slaves, and servants – those whose exploitation arguably fueled the power of those great figures. It’s been republished several times since its release in 1980, and it has influenced hundreds of works (including titles on this list) that take a more critical look at our national narratives.

Able and Willing

September 1, 2025August 25, 2025 / Susan O. / 2 Comments

Disability is a loaded word.

I won’t debate the semantics of the term, what the current politically correct term is, or how to make your workplace more variant friendly.

Let’s talk about something far more inflammatory. The rights of the disabled to carry out adult relationships. At best, a disabled person is able to find a partner despite their difficulties, marry (or not), and live a happy adult life together, with or without kids (popular example: the TV show Little People, Big World). Sometimes, it’s disabled people fighting in court for the right to marry or raise their own children (the movie I Am Sam). At the very worst, it’s vulnerable people being preyed upon, taken advantage of, or controlled to the point of involuntary sterilization.

I grabbed the book Hunchback, partly because it was short, and partly because I’ve been in the field of disabilities for 40 years. Hunchback, a novella by Saou Ichikawa, was not the book I’d expected, despite winning multiple awards. Ichikawa’s character, Shaka, suffers from congenital myopathy (same as the author—write what you know), which has left her with progressively weak muscles. Her back is so hunched over she can’t breathe when holding a book, and she spends half the day using a ventilator. She can walk short distances, but her body is twisted and one leg is far shorter than the other. She has a tracheostomy, which makes talking difficult, so she uses a lot of alternative communication devices. Shaka spends her time writing erotica online, the money from which she spends on food for poor people and women.

Winner of several Japanese awards, Hunchback calls out ableism on many levels. Ichikawa considers it political: Disabled people are hidden away by society, never considered because they’re never seen. People in wheelchairs are rarely mentioned in literature at all, unless they’re being “cured,” like in Heidi or A Secret Garden. Disabled people are portrayed as a drain on society, dependent on charity, so by making a wealthy disabled character (who generates income through pornography), she pokes a hornet’s nest.

Another book that touches on the subject of sexual autonomy is James Cole’s Not a Whole Boy. Cole was born in the 60’s with a severe case of exstrophy – most of his organs were born outside his body, and his pelvis malformed. Most babies with this condition do not survive. Due to Cole’s mother’s determination and a great team of doctors, Cole managed to thrive despite severe obstacles. While he seemed more or less normal to other kids, Cole hid the fact that he had double ostomies – all his waste was collected in bags, as he didn’t have the needed parts and couldn’t use a toilet. As he got older and puberty kicked in, it became necessary to undergo multiple surgeries just to have a sense of comfort, normalcy, and proper biological function. Cole’s book documents his struggles with medieval children’s hospitals, lack of pain management, and his eventual success with a career in art and film – certainly not hidden away.

A book that took me by complete surprise was Riva Lehrer’s Golem Girl, a golem being a creature formed from dirt or clay. Riva was born with Spina Bifida in 1958, a time when most afflicted infants did not survive, and almost certainly didn’t walk. She suffers dozens of painful surgeries to keep her mobility, most of which do nothing to ease her issues – she’s just a guinea pig for the surgeons. Although she attends a grade school for the disabled (disability laws hadn’t been written yet), she attends a mainstream high school, then university, where she gets a degree in fine art, all while dealing with surgeries and intense feelings of revulsion toward herself. Amplifying it is her mother’s overprotective codependency, spitting out helpful comments such as “You don’t need a nose job. No one wants to marry a cripple,” and “You shouldn’t have children; pregnancy will just mess up your spine worse,” – culminating in an involuntary hysterectomy at 15 on the mother’s order.

Riva goes on to have multiple affairs with both men and women. While some relationships work out, many times she’s still hit with prejudice – “I can’t love a cripple.” Riva remains unstoppable. She becomes more comfortable with herself through meeting up with other people – often activists – with disabilities. As an artist, she gains renown (and awards) through her paintings of disabled people (and others) she has met.

This book was so hard to put down, and read like you were in the middle of a conversation with her. Lehrer doesn’t go into detail on her disability or surgeries; she talks about herself, not her medical issues. After doing time as an anatomical artist, she sees people not so much as disabled, but as human variants – no one is “normal,” there is no “normal,” just human variations. But everyone has a right to love and happiness.

At the heart of it, people with physical disabilities are still people. It doesn’t mean they don’t have the same dreams, desires, or feelings as people who aren’t. All of these books will give you deep new insights into the strength of humanity.