On Writing: Disability, Hidden Powers and Untold Stories

with Amanda Leduc, Author and Disability Rights Advocate

Amanda Leduc is a disability rights advocate and author of Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space, which was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award in Non-Fiction. 

In this episode we discuss perceptions of disability all the way back to Darwin, and how fairy tales—our basic origin stories—offer fertile ground for re-imagining disability and "disfigured" bodies. We talk about writing for our seven-year-old selves, and how to create belonging even when the world may not be ready for our differences. 

For more on the theme of story, read the story “Foreign Object” in my upcoming book Bones of Belonging — now available for purchase.