Disability Lives : The Human Side of Social Security Disability Cases

by Michael Wells

Disability Lives is a powerful, unflinching collection of real-life stories inspired by clients who have battled for survival inside the broken U.S. Social Security Disability system. Written by attorney Michael Wells, who has spent over two decades representing the disabled, these narratives expose the harrowing reality of people society too often ignores—those who can no longer work because of physical and psychological trauma.

Through stories of factory workers with cluster headaches, sexual abuse survivors, veterans of domestic violence, the homeless, and the mentally ill, Disability Lives lifts the veil on a bureaucracy designed to wear people down until they give up—or die waiting. With empathy, sharp legal insight, and haunting clarity, Wells humanizes the lives behind the case files.

From courtroom humiliation to systemic cruelty, this is a book that tells the truth most don’t want to hear—about how America treats its most vulnerable.

If you’ve ever wondered what it means to fight for your dignity when the odds are stacked against you, these are the stories you need to read.

55 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 21, 2025