Harriet McBryde Johnson

Harriet McBryde Johnson’s Followers (31)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo

Harriet McBryde Johnson


Born
in North Carolina, The United States
July 08, 1957

Died
June 04, 2008


Harriet McBryde Johnson was an American author, attorney, and disability rights activist. She was disabled due to a neuromuscular disease and used a motorized wheelchair.

Johnson, who was born in eastern North Carolina, lived most of her life in Charleston, South Carolina.

In 2002, Harriet Johnson debated Peter Singer, challenging his belief that parents ought to be able to euthanize their disabled children. "Unspeakable Conversations," Johnson's account of her encounters with Singer and the pro-euthanasia movement, was published in the New York Times Magazine in 2003.

She wrote Too Late to Die Young in 2005 and Accidents of Nature in 2006.

During her career as an attorney she specialized in helping people who couldn't work get Social Security
...more

Average rating: 4.4 · 17,630 ratings · 2,600 reviews · 8 distinct worksSimilar authors
Disability Visibility: Firs...

by
4.44 avg rating — 17,886 ratings — published 2020 — 6 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Accidents of Nature

3.70 avg rating — 797 ratings — published 2006 — 14 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Too Late to Die Young: Near...

4.19 avg rating — 448 ratings — published 2005 — 8 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Unspeakable conversations o...

4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Leaves Clapped Their Hands

3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1978 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Ideas in Context: Strategie...

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1998 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Too Late to Die Young: Near...

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
Legal rights of handicapped...

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
More books by Harriet McBryde Johnson…
Quotes by Harriet McBryde Johnson  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“God didn’t put me on this street to provide disability awareness training to everyone who happens by. In fact, no god put anyone anywhere for any reason, if you want to know.”
Harriet McBryde Johnson, Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from a Life

“The case for assisted suicide rests on stereotypes that our lives are inherently so bad that it is entirely rational if we want to die.
(...)
It is not about autonomy but about nondisabled people telling us what’s good for us.
In the discussion that follows, I argue that choice is illusory in a context of pervasive inequality. Choices are structured by oppression. We shouldn’t offer assistance with suicide until we all have the assistance we need to get out of bed in the morning and live a good life. Common causes of suicidality—dependence, institutional confinement, being a burden—are entirely curable.”
Harriet McBryde Johnson

“I don't want to pretend. I want to achieve, really achieve. Or I will take my disappointments like anyone else.”
Harriet McBryde Johnson

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Glens Falls (NY) ...: This topic has been closed to new comments. What are U reading these days? (PART TEN (2014) (ongoing thread for 2014) 670 49 Jan 01, 2015 02:22PM  
~Readers Sharing ...: What was your best read in 2014? 10 23 Jan 07, 2016 10:33AM  
~Readers Sharing ...: * Are you listening to a book now? 190 88 Apr 01, 2016 07:35PM  
~Readers Sharing ...: Self Help 24 54 Dec 11, 2024 08:46AM  
~Readers Sharing ...: Young Adult 215 130 Jan 21, 2025 12:36AM  
Hooked on Books : IBR - Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson 8 6 Jul 19, 2025 05:31AM  
~Readers Sharing ...: Contemporary Fiction 442 119 Apr 27, 2026 09:54AM