What do you think?
Rate this book
Within My Spokes: A Tapestry of Pain, Growth & Freedom
Life is always beautiful no matter what it looks like because of the tapestry of relationships and people.
Make it colorful and unique. Within My Spokes is a collection of Jenna Udenberg’s life stories and the relationships that create her tapestry. From her childhood diagnosis of Juvenile Arthritis at age 7, Jenna fought through long journeys of medical battles, broken systems, discrimination & ignorance. Jenna is a 2020 Bush Fellow and is now a disability advocate, activist, and accessibility educator. Readers have laughed and cried as they dug deeper into her shared life stories. This is a coming of age book about finding oneself, one’s purpose and worth sometimes through the most unlikely of relationships and circumstances. Within these stories, you will be taken on a journey Though our stories may be different, you may relate to experiences in this book of pain, growth & freedom that could help you on your journey. Jenna Udenberg grew up on the beautiful North Shore of Lake Superior. She is a disability advocate and accessibility educator. Jenna’s newspaper column, Local View from 4’ 2” , can be found in the Lake County Press and she loves working with others including her non-profit, Above & Beyond With U.
Make it colorful and unique. Within My Spokes is a collection of Jenna Udenberg’s life stories and the relationships that create her tapestry. From her childhood diagnosis of Juvenile Arthritis at age 7, Jenna fought through long journeys of medical battles, broken systems, discrimination & ignorance. Jenna is a 2020 Bush Fellow and is now a disability advocate, activist, and accessibility educator. Readers have laughed and cried as they dug deeper into her shared life stories. This is a coming of age book about finding oneself, one’s purpose and worth sometimes through the most unlikely of relationships and circumstances. Within these stories, you will be taken on a journey Though our stories may be different, you may relate to experiences in this book of pain, growth & freedom that could help you on your journey. Jenna Udenberg grew up on the beautiful North Shore of Lake Superior. She is a disability advocate and accessibility educator. Jenna’s newspaper column, Local View from 4’ 2” , can be found in the Lake County Press and she loves working with others including her non-profit, Above & Beyond With U.
236 pages, Paperback
Published July 13, 2023
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 22, 2023
Jenna's book is such an important message about hope, resilience, and finding new perspectives. She shares her journey with both honesty and compassion. The change she has helped to become a reality in our small community and beyond is so important. Thank you, Jenna, for sharing your journey and I can't wait to see what you do next!
Read
September 5, 2023This book makes you feel like you know Jenna personally, whether you do or not. Her quiet but friendly temperament, her description of the specific challenges she faces throughout her life, and her focus on the joy and pleasures available to her--which are plentiful--come to the reader easily, almost as if she were speaking right to you. We can all find things we share with Jenna's experience, whether it's frustration with "the system," gratitude to a stranger, or faith in God. She is helping us all to join the public conversation of citizens who want the best possible circumstances for people with disabilities, but haven't taken the time to internalize what that means.
October 9, 2023
Absolutely inspiring!! I think this should be required reading for Special Ed majors. Jenna’s courage, fortitude and pleasant personality will be an asset to building community partnerships and accessible space and activities for challenged individuals.
August 2, 2023
Unstoppable!
Evocative and empowering, this book conveys the author’s journey with such humility, candor and vulnerability that you have no choice but to be emotionally invested in her journey.
She serves us with a powerful testimony that the spirit can rise above the most painful of challenges and that the sheer will to make a difference can emerge from the darkest of circumstances.
Since the tender age of seven, author, Jenna Udenberg has undergone multiple surgeries, not to mention the emotional upheaval that causes, and soon discovers the harsh realities experienced by many other individuals that face disabilities, that understanding and support are not always a certainty.
However, despite the pain and inner turmoil, her strong faith, passion, resilience and encouragement from peers have equipped her to overcome the obstacles that initially may have seemed insurmountable within a prejudiced society, and she achieved her goals as a musician and educator.
With a strong and unbreakable support network of family and friends, Jenna Udenberg has learnt valuable life lessons along the way to the path of activism. Her motivation and determination to make a change within society is inspiring.
Thank you for sharing your story Jenna, you are truly unstoppable!
Evocative and empowering, this book conveys the author’s journey with such humility, candor and vulnerability that you have no choice but to be emotionally invested in her journey.
She serves us with a powerful testimony that the spirit can rise above the most painful of challenges and that the sheer will to make a difference can emerge from the darkest of circumstances.
Since the tender age of seven, author, Jenna Udenberg has undergone multiple surgeries, not to mention the emotional upheaval that causes, and soon discovers the harsh realities experienced by many other individuals that face disabilities, that understanding and support are not always a certainty.
However, despite the pain and inner turmoil, her strong faith, passion, resilience and encouragement from peers have equipped her to overcome the obstacles that initially may have seemed insurmountable within a prejudiced society, and she achieved her goals as a musician and educator.
With a strong and unbreakable support network of family and friends, Jenna Udenberg has learnt valuable life lessons along the way to the path of activism. Her motivation and determination to make a change within society is inspiring.
Thank you for sharing your story Jenna, you are truly unstoppable!
August 3, 2023
“The disability is not the problem. The accessibility is the problem.”
Mohamed Jemni
I have known Jenna longer than I can remember, and I’ve never once considered her my disabled friend. If anything I would say that I am the one with a disability. A disability for a true understanding just how much myself and other able bodied people take accessibility for granted.
Thank you Jenna! Not just for being my friend but for being a truly amazing human! From an early age you have seen the world through different glasses but those glasses have helped to carve who you are! You are opening doors for so many people from so many walks and wheels of life!
Thank you for sharing your story and humor with the world.
Loved the book!!!!
Mohamed Jemni
I have known Jenna longer than I can remember, and I’ve never once considered her my disabled friend. If anything I would say that I am the one with a disability. A disability for a true understanding just how much myself and other able bodied people take accessibility for granted.
Thank you Jenna! Not just for being my friend but for being a truly amazing human! From an early age you have seen the world through different glasses but those glasses have helped to carve who you are! You are opening doors for so many people from so many walks and wheels of life!
Thank you for sharing your story and humor with the world.
Loved the book!!!!
December 2, 2023
This was a wonderful, thought-provoking book that centers on how the author’s disability has impacted her own life - relationships, education, career, housing, healthcare, and the list goes on. Through her stories, the light is shined-on elements of our attitudes and our systems that desperately need to change. Despite the difficult subject matter, you will chuckle regularly and read from front to cover with a growing sense of how change can and is possible. I was left wanting to hear more and to do more. This is the voice of a leader. I hope the author continues writing, leading, and, on behalf of children and youth, I hope she considers writing books for the younger audiences as well.
July 23, 2023
This book takes you through life lessons, a powerful journey, and provides insights into how we can all look at our relationships to make life unique! If you are looking for a book to learn about the perspective of someone else's life and how they overcame their personal obstacles growing up, this is the book. You will learn about the journey of hardship into freedom. To read the words of such an inspiring person was a great journey to see the amazing things the Author has done now with their non-profit and building awareness and education for accessibility.
August 2, 2023
“It is no longer acceptable to not have women at the table. It is no longer acceptable to not have people of color at the table. But no one thinks to see if the table is accessible.” - Judith Heumann
Jenna relates her experiences as a "wheelie" with vulnerability and humor. I do not believe you can read this book and remain silent about these issues.
Jenna relates her experiences as a "wheelie" with vulnerability and humor. I do not believe you can read this book and remain silent about these issues.
August 6, 2023
What a great eye-opening book about Jenna's personal story from when she was diagnosed up until the present. The struggles, the joys, and everything in between is what makes it such an incredible reading. I read it all in one sitting, and I would recommend this book to everyone. It shows how far a person can come through faith and never giving up.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews