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And They Lived... Ever After
Meet a deaf Snow White, a wheelchair-using Rapunzel, a neurodivergent Ugly Duckling.
In a world where fairy tales usually demonize characters who live with disability, these and other fairy-tale characters challenge our understanding of the people around us. The authors of this collection seek to retell classic stories by weaving in their own everyday experiences-the struggles, joys and frustrations that may not be known to the non-disabled.
And They Lived ... Ever After grew out of a programme organized by Rising Flame, an award-winning non-profit that seeks to build an inclusive world in which diverse bodies, minds and voices thrive with dignity and live free of discrimination, abuse and violence. This book is every bit as enchanting as it is important.
In a world where fairy tales usually demonize characters who live with disability, these and other fairy-tale characters challenge our understanding of the people around us. The authors of this collection seek to retell classic stories by weaving in their own everyday experiences-the struggles, joys and frustrations that may not be known to the non-disabled.
And They Lived ... Ever After grew out of a programme organized by Rising Flame, an award-winning non-profit that seeks to build an inclusive world in which diverse bodies, minds and voices thrive with dignity and live free of discrimination, abuse and violence. This book is every bit as enchanting as it is important.
213 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 2, 2024
Disability is a physical or mental condition that makes it difficult for an individual to perform tasks and interact with their surroundings. However, great individuals like Hellen Keller, Alexander Grahambell, Socrates, and Srikanth Bholla have demonstrated that impairment is not a dead end.
The Rising Flame Society,
an award-winning non-profit initiative, published "And They Lived... Ever After," an anthology that reimagines traditional fairy tales through fantasy and magical realism, incorporating disabled people.
The book, written by 13 women, challenges traditional representations of disability in literature and emphasizes the struggles, joys, and resilience of disadvantaged individuals. The anthology tackles social issues like bullying and shaming, humanizing often-overlooked characters, promoting empathy and encouraging readers to reconsider their perceptions. Rising Flame's efforts aim to promote a kinder, more inclusive society by educating its audience and providing entertainment. The book demonstrates the strength of varied voices in literature and lays the groundwork for a time when everyone can live happily ever after.
The book, written by 13 women, challenges traditional representations of disability in literature and emphasizes the struggles, joys, and resilience of disadvantaged individuals. The anthology tackles social issues like bullying and shaming, humanizing often-overlooked characters, promoting empathy and encouraging readers to reconsider their perceptions. Rising Flame's efforts aim to promote a kinder, more inclusive society by educating its audience and providing entertainment. The book demonstrates the strength of varied voices in literature and lays the groundwork for a time when everyone can live happily ever after.
February 23, 2026
75/100
It's a book to be read, not for knowledge, entertainment or wisdom, but for perspective. It's not a children's book.
Reading these stories made me realize how one-dimensional my concept of a "person with disability" is. How complex the hopes & desires of humans! How perplexing the anthropomorphization of despair, kindness, wickedness, innocence... How layered the self-awareness, & how confused the "meta"... & how little I know & understand what makes people feel small, & what makes people feel big ... How hope mixes with dark humour in an uncomfortable blend ...
From the publishers : "Rising Flame and HarperCollins India have published a first-ever anthology of disabled women retelling fairy tales called ‘And they lived ... Ever after’. This anthology has been written by 13 disabled women from across India and Sri Lanka. The writers are women with disabilities like deafness, blindness, autism, locomotor, dyslexia, ADHD, psychosocial among others. These writers are lawyers, professors, entrepreneurs, special educators, marketing professionals and so on. These authors came together to see themselves in popular stories like Ugly Duckling, Rapunzel, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Snow White and Rumplestiltskin."
It was interesting to see that 4 of 13 authors related with the Ugly Duckling in some way or the other. We have read such retellings, humanization of villains has been taken up by none other than Disney corp...., we have had feminist versions, rationalist versions & gory horror versions.
Read this too.
Most of all, these stories are not written with very high skill or style, but with a lot of soul & heart.
It's a book to be read, not for knowledge, entertainment or wisdom, but for perspective. It's not a children's book.
Reading these stories made me realize how one-dimensional my concept of a "person with disability" is. How complex the hopes & desires of humans! How perplexing the anthropomorphization of despair, kindness, wickedness, innocence... How layered the self-awareness, & how confused the "meta"... & how little I know & understand what makes people feel small, & what makes people feel big ... How hope mixes with dark humour in an uncomfortable blend ...
From the publishers : "Rising Flame and HarperCollins India have published a first-ever anthology of disabled women retelling fairy tales called ‘And they lived ... Ever after’. This anthology has been written by 13 disabled women from across India and Sri Lanka. The writers are women with disabilities like deafness, blindness, autism, locomotor, dyslexia, ADHD, psychosocial among others. These writers are lawyers, professors, entrepreneurs, special educators, marketing professionals and so on. These authors came together to see themselves in popular stories like Ugly Duckling, Rapunzel, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Snow White and Rumplestiltskin."
It was interesting to see that 4 of 13 authors related with the Ugly Duckling in some way or the other. We have read such retellings, humanization of villains has been taken up by none other than Disney corp...., we have had feminist versions, rationalist versions & gory horror versions.
Read this too.
Most of all, these stories are not written with very high skill or style, but with a lot of soul & heart.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews