Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People

by Alice Wong (Editor)

16 essays by 17 disabled writers, activists, and artists. This is crip wisdom for the people.

Edited by Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project, Resistance and Hope will transform the way you think about activism, leadership and social justice.

How do we fight back in an era of uncertainty, institutionalized cruelty, and widespread tolerance for ableism and hate? Written in 2017, the authors explore resistance, hope, self care, disability rights and justice, and the politics of Trump in a series of provocative, challenging essays. They bring the power of intersectional cross-platform organizing and the strength found through mutual accountability to words that will help you define the resistance you want to fight for, not just the harm you want to react against.

Dare to dream bigger and create space for all with this visionary essay anthology from multiply marginalized disabled people redefining an inclusive climate of resistance. The time is NOW!

“Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People is a timely and must-read collection of essays by some of the most cutting edge leaders in the Disability Rights Movement. If you are interested in learning more about disability rights and justice, activism, and current times we are living in today take the time to read and may these pieces evoke discussions in your communities as we fight for justice and equity.”
— Judy Heumann, Disability Activist

"Get this book right now! Resistance and Hope is the disability justice Bible you've been waiting for. If you want to read a book chock full of disabled Black, brown, queer, trans genius, real talk and vision, this book will give you comrades reassurances that we are brilliant revolutionaries and a plethora of tools and visions for how we make the road by limping, crutching, rolling, signing and stimming. I am so grateful for Alice Wong for doing the cultural work of putting this together and for every single writer in this book."
— Leah Piepzna-Samarasinha, performer, community organizer, and author of Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice (Arsenal Pulp Press, October 1, 2018)

"An instructive and empowering anthology on the lived struggles of persons with disabilities. You will finish this book hopeful, optimistic, and ready to rebuild our nation for all to shine."
— Arjun Singh Sethi, activist and author of American Hate: Survivors Speak Out (The New Press, August 7, 2018)

ANTHOLOGY CONTRIBUTORS:

Lydia X. Z. Brown
Anita Cameron
Cyree Jarelle Johnson
DJ Kuttin Kandi
Mari Kurisato
Talila A. Lewis
Noemi Martinez
Stacey Milbern
Mia Mingus
Lev Mirov
Leroy Moore
Shain M. Neumeier
Naomi Ortiz
Victoria Rodríguez-Roldán
Vilissa K. Thompson
Aleksei Valentín
Maysoon Zayid

Editorial Assistant: Robin M. Eames

Book cover by Micah Bazant

For updates and more on the anthology: https://disabilityvisibilityproject.c...

*All royalties from Resistance and Hope will go toward HEARD (Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of Deaf Communities). HEARD is the only organization in the nation that works to correct and prevent wrongful convictions of D/deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

Genres: Disability, Nonfiction, Essays, Disability Studies, Politics, Social Justice, Anthologies

115 pages, ebook

First published October 8, 2018

About the author

Alice Wong (she/her) was a disabled activist, media maker, and consultant based in San Francisco. She was the Founder and Director of the Disability Visibility Project® (DVP), an online community dedicated to creating, sharing and amplifying disability media and culture.

Reviews

[Rosalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading these essays/reflections was a deeply moving experience for me as a feminist, a Latina, and a non-disabled person. I felt like I was having a long, late-night conversation with each author about topics that are both abstract and very personal at the same time: hope, despair, resistance, the limits and the potential of each of us as individuals and in community.

The book is published by the Disability Visibility Project, rather than a conventional press, and in an e-book-only release (for reasons of accessibility), so it probably won't get the same review coverage that more traditionally published titles do. Hopefully we individual book lovers can spread the word to each other.

[Anushree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People, Edited by Alice Wong

This is a publication by the Disability Visibility Project. You can find them on FB as well as Twitter.

This is a compilation of 16 searing essays by multiply disabled people belonging to various marginalized communities - black, lgbtq+, muslim, jewish. The book is a poem that talks about hope, about how resistance gives hope, about who should resist, what resistance means to different people, about organizing as a means to resist, about art, writing, hip hop, movies, pop culture as a form of resistance, about the importance of dreaming about and having constant conversations of an impossible utopian world as a means to resist and reach a place which at least attempts to be fair and just for the many marginalizations across intersections. I read about Sagamihara 19 massacre first here and the more I read about it, the more I realize what a cocoon some of us live in. The book speaks of self care in the times of debilitating political season. The book is what it talks of. It is resistance. It is hope.

I think all of us should read it for the myriad, kind and massively educated perspectives it promises to offer.

[KA · Rating 3 out of 5]

These essays have a wide range in quality, and few of them offer concrete plans or suggestions for organizing and self-care. Overall, worth reading for the really excellent essays.

[Mateo Dk · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt kind of like a series of selfintroductory motivational speeches you'd hear at the beginning of an activist event. Very much 2016-2018 period piece without a lot of theory or meat, just introductions to individual activists and their thoughts on Trump era politics. I felt almost nothing about any of the book-- I was intrigued to maybe check out other writing by some of the contributors, but not because of the actual content of the essays usually, just because the biography after was interesting. Also, sorry, but the concept of saying "permanently disable Trump's electability" or whatever was... it floored me. I feel bad for such a negative review, it's nice to see so many disabled people centered, but the actual essays just weren't there and felt like introductions to more interesting thoughts.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up. I hate to give this well intentioned anthology a low rating, but unfortunately it was just...not that good. several of the essays felt incredibly out of place and were not actually about resistance and hope. a lot of them felt like incomplete thoughts or the beginning of a longer passionate essay, which I'm attributing to what I assume was a word limit. some of them were relevant to the title, particularly the one about courageous dreams by Talila Lewis. It's clear this anthology was made with love for disabled people, but it felt more like disjointed thoughts. I appreciate the bios on all the authors, and felt like I learned more from those than the essays themselves. I would be interested in a follow up essay to this in a covid world and the 2nd Trump administration.
I will also add I felt the essay about Baron Trump was incredibly out of place, and really weird to include in this.

[Richard Propes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently had the opportunity to preview Alice Wong's upcoming "Disability Visibility," I enthusiastically claimed the opportunity to go back a couple years and check out a similar 2018 effort by Wong that also pushed disabled voices to the forefront. "Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People" is really an expansion of Wong's acclaimed Disability Visibility Project, an anthology of essays written by some of the country's most celebrated and recognized activists, leaders, and social justice pioneers for disability justice.

In most ways, "Resistance and Hope" feels like an introduction to "Disability Visibility," though at least part of that is that it's obvious Wong has learned much since compiling this anthology and has applied that knowledge to her upcoming release. While "Resistance and Hope" is, indeed, just as filled with resistance and hope, it's a shorter effort with 17 essays and its inconsistent tone sometimes mutes its overall impact intellectually and emotionally.

The authors here explore resistance, hope, self-care, disability justice, and the current state of political affairs in America under an administration that has reversed or just plain eliminated many disability rights measures.

The book challenges, though perhaps a tad less than it intends and this is a key lesson Wong seems to have learned and applied in her upcoming "Disability Visibility." These essays are shorter and for the most part rather fundamental, while the post-essays bios are frequently far too lengthy. Additionally, Wong utilizes content advisories a bit excessively - this is also an area that is vastly improved in her upcoming project.

All 17 of the essays will be appreciated, though is as nearly always true with anthologies certain ones are likely to resonate more than others. Favorites of mine included Cyree Jarelle Johnson's "Barron Trump's (Alleged) Autistic Childhood," Mari Kurisato's "They Had Names," and Stacey Milbern's "Reflections as Congress Debates Our Futures," and Naomi Ortiz's "Self-Care When Things Shatter." Lydia X.Z. Brown always impresses and the same is true for "Rebel - Don't Be Palatable: Resisting Co-optation and Fighting for the World We Want," while Mia Mingus, Maysoon Zayid, and Talila A. Lewis all shine.

Truthfully, though, there's not a weak effort here other than noting that some could have benefited from lengthier presentation.

Alice Wong has established herself not only as a premiere activist in America for disability justice, but also as one who enthusiastically shines the light on others. It's refreshing in a world often filled with "me first" to see someone so enthusiastically devoted to sharing the spotlight and empowering others.

Published directly by the Disability Visibility Project, "Resistance and Hope" is available in a Kindle edition as the e-book format was chosen primarily for its flexibility and accessibility.

[Charlie - disableddaydreamer | itsbarbieparis (looking for mutuals) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it’s hard to give a star rating for a collection of essays like this. Here is my experience with the book- I liked it very much, but the book is written and much is placed within the timeline of the 2016 election and after effects. This has varying degrees of everygreen. I think the stories are, and I think reviewing movements again, can assist in progression.
I enjoyed the book overall, and a few essays imparted permanent wisdom.
My top essay in the collection was “Rebel - Don’t Be Palatable: Resisting Co-optation and Fighting for the World We Want”- This essay discusses us in the disabled movement’s coming from a variety of backgrounds, trauma and are not perfect but that is the beauty and importance of the disability movement.
“We should never say that being traumatized or marginalized absolves us of responsibility when we harm others. But we’ve quite undeniably built up a mythology that there’s a linear progression in activism. And in reality, that myth is itself ableist, classist, racist, and capitalist because it implies that we’re all on an upward progression”- This an excerpt from the same section, that reframed how I wish to approach and view activism. It’s not necessarily revelatory that we are on different progressive paths for freedom- but I thought of work I have done politically with grassroots politics, and I think how I was on the right path but neglecting much of the conversation.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resistance and Hope is a series of essays collected from the disability community, written to spur action, collective healing, and resistance. Each essay is short and sweet--not really calling for any specific actions but pushing forth broader ideas on what modern activism taken from learnings in the Disability Justice framework can look like. What I really appreciated about this book was that it truly demonstrated intersectional resistance and unabashedly called out existing ableist hierarchies present within nonprofits, advocacy groups, and cultural resistances such as the Hip Hop movement. I think the word "intersectional" is thrown around a lot, but seeing it in actual advocacy work is renewing. I don't feel like there was enough space given to fully dive into some topics I was particularly interested in, and as someone who has already done a bit of reading in disability theory and existing disability organizations and advocates, I don't think I came away with anything new, but I do think this set of essays would be particularly helpful as an introduction to the community for activists who are looking to make sure their organizations and communities are inclusive / hoping to build coalitions with other marginalized communities.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went to high school with Alice Wong and I have been excited to see the work she's been doing for disability justice. This is an outstanding book of essays and an exemplar of showcasing people with complex intersectional identities. It probably is not a great introductory text to disability justice or to understanding intersectionality for those people who haven't encountered those concepts before but it is an excellent next step for people ready to step outside their silos. I was not familiar with all the writers but I had heard of Lydia X.Z. Brown (Autistic Hoya) and their essay was a really great reflection on the complexity of dealing with intersectional identities in various activist circles as well as in interactions with the wider world. Because these are all essays by different people, it's also well-illustrated that disabled people are not a monolithic group, objects to be pitied, or creatures to fear after reading these essays. Ableism is insidious, people wanting to avoid acting in ways that are ableist and harmful would benefit a lot from reading these. There is a lot to discuss here.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read this in 2025, and knowing it was published in 2018 following Trump’s first election to the office of president, it was disarmingly chilling how relevant the motivation is today. The collection of essays is written by a diverse group of activists with disabilities. There were pleas to remember self-care, words of encouragement, and lots of anger. It was less a “how-to” and more of a “share in the emotion” collection. While the emotion was powerful, I was hoping for a bit more in the “how to” area.

I was pleasantly surprised to see an essay co-authored by Leroy Moore who I used to work with when I lived in the SF/Bay Area. I treasured reading his author bio and seeing “where he is now.”

Overall though, as I read, I was reminded of the exhaustion I felt each day when I was working in the disability advocacy field. I admire those who continue to fight-the-fight each day and I also loudly echo the pleas to be sure to focus on self-care. All advocates of any ability need to remember, it is important to take time away from the advocacy and focus on other tasks, hobbies, or life events.

[Anja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this now. So important for these voices to be heard and to challenge one's own thoughts, or find ways to become more involved. I love that the authors talk about challenges within different communities & explores ways to make those communities more supportive, supported, and accessible to all. I also value the dissonance in representing two different viewpoints, even coming from the same author.

All of this was food for my soul that I wasn't even aware I needed until I read it.

Currently, this book is available via Kindle or free online download. (No paper format.) I suggest either one, but if you go the free online download route, consider donating to the Disability Visibility Project, LLC via Patreon or Paypal: https://disabilityvisibilityproject.c...

Let's bring more voices to the front and continue the work of these amazing people.

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Alice Wong ever since hearing her interview on Ana Marie Cox's podcast, so I was very excited to hear that she edited a new book about disabled experiences. "Resistance and Hope" consists of essays centered on navigating disability justice in the Trump era, with special attention to the experiences of queer and POC individuals. Some of the writers were familiar to me (Lydia Brown, Mia Mingus), and others were authors I didn't know before but really enjoyed (Stacey Milbern, for example). Overall, it's a great book to read if you're interested in intersectional disability activism, whether you're new to the subject or have engaged with it for years.

I wish more books like this existed.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may be possible that in the near future I will run out of adjectives during my mini-reviews - but it is not this day!

Written in 2017, these 16 essays cover a vast array of subjects within the disabled community: resistance, hope, self-care, intersectional disability rights and social justice.

This was such an informative read. If you take nothing else away, remember that. If you happen to actually go out of your way to read this fabulous and necessary collection, please make sure you make it to ‘Don’t bring cotton candy to a nuclear war’ by Maysoon Zayid which really stood out for me.

[C.E. G · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, but rounding up because the collection introduces readers to the names of disability justice activists who are doing work that is important to know and support. But the actual experience of reading the anthology didn't feel that revelatory - maybe because I already follow some of the contributors on social media, the ideas here were already largely familiar to me.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved most of it

I really liked this book, with one exception : content notes are for sensitive topics that may impact trauma survivors or people with phobias. In a disabled writer anthology it baffles and upsets me that this was treated so badly! "Activist praxis" isn't a content note!

[Jennifer Stoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, like every essay anthology, not every essay was 5 stars, but enough of these hit me in the thoughts and emotions that it was overall a 5 star experience. The Neumeier, Mirov, and Valentine were especially memorable to me, and others were very viscerally good as well.

[Mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not be more grateful that this book exists. Every essay meant more to me than I can say.

[Madi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When world is shattering, we are the shards cutting to shape something new." (Naomi Ortiz)

[jo price · Rating 4 out of 5]

very timely and comforting for what we are living *rn*. really appreciated the the reminder/calling in of what *really* matters and what doesn't.

[Srujana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Fei · Rating 5 out of 5]

The essays are primarily reflecting on the years after Trump was elected but are still very much true today

[moss · Rating 3 out of 5]

a few of the essays resonated, a lot of them focused on a resistance strategy which was primarily electoral politics. not super inspiring, especially looking back from 2022.

[Fi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this! I only wish there was a physical book version so I could underline and bookmark!

[Leah Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: Loved this collection of essays. Full of insights and fresh perspectives, and stoked my hope fire.

[Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

[5 stars] A timely collection of essays by disabled people in the US, edited by the Disability Visibility Project's Alice Wong. Writers grapple with resistance and hope amidst a social and political climate of white supremacy, patriarchy, colonization, and ongoing ableism. I appreciated the essays that looked at the intersections of race, gender, and disability, especially "Rebel - Don't Be Palatable" by Lydia XZ Brown, "Barron Trump's (Alleged) Autistic Childhood" by Cyree Jarelle Johnson, "They Had Names" by Mari Kurisato, "the birth of resistance" by Talila A Lewis, "Renewal of Faith and Hope" by Noemi Martinez, "Reflections as Congress Debates our Futures" by Stacey Milburn, and "Building Back Belonging, Hope, and Possibility" by Mia Mingus.