Ellen Simon

“There is something soothing about being rejected. It really anchors you in your body. It feels like a bath.”
― Emily Austin, Interesting Facts About Space

“I just mean, a story can be beautiful not because of the way it ends. But because of the way it’s written.”
― Alison Espach, The Wedding People

“The thing is,” child-me continues, “ghosts aren’t any more scary than people are. Think about it. Ghosts just used to be people. Some people are really scary, like murderers, and bullies.”
― Emily R. Austin, Interesting Facts about Space

“If society is used to not seeing disabled people in stories, society becomes used to not seeing disabled people in real life. If society is used to not seeing disabled people in real life, society will continue to build a world that makes it exceedingly difficult for disabled people to participate in said world, thus perpetuating the problem. In this world, there is no need for a wheelchair ramp because hardly anyone who wins an award will need one to get onstage. But what if we took it for granted that anyone, regardless of ability, might be able to achieve, and built our stages and our environments accordingly?
It is time for us to tell different stories.
It is time for a different world.”
― Amanda Leduc, Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space