Jen, Author at Made of Stardust and Stubbornness

RIP Alice Wong

Posted on November 15, 2025 by Jen

This morning I woke to to the news that Alice Wong had passed away. Alice was someone I’d known through social media and her work. Her site Disability Visibility Projects is an immense resource. There is a lot to be learned from her and her work.

Her final words were posted on Instagram and Facebook accounts by a friend of hers:

“This is Alice’s friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice’s wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing.

Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin. We need more stories about us and our culture. You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I’m honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”

Here’s an article she wrote for the Times last year: Living With Muscular Dystrophy at 50 Makes Death My Shadow Partner

“Death remains my intimate shadow partner. It has been with me since birth, always hovering close by. I understand one day we will finally waltz together into the ether. I hope when that time comes, I die with the satisfaction of a life well-lived, unapologetic, joyful, and full of love.”

RIP Alice Wong, I’m glad to have known you.

If you haven’t read any of her books I strongly suggest you do so, they’re all listed on her site. But perhaps especially her anthology Disability Visibility or her memoir Year of the Tiger

The fight for our freedoms is never ending. As it’s been said we must “remember the dead but fight like hell for the living”. Last week I read the book Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis and it seems like a good book to be reading now as well.

“Read This When Things Fall Apart” Review

Posted on November 11, 2025November 11, 2025 by Jen

“Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis” edited by Kelly Hayes

Organizers are well seasoned in defeat. We study movement histories, strategize collectively, and gather strength in direct action, knowing that liberation does not arrive overnight, but that the fight is worth it. But what happens when political and personal crises overlap, and the despair becomes overwhelming? Where do we turn when the process of organizing no longer feels like a site of refuge, but isolating, or even tragic?

Read This When Things Fall Apart is a collection of letters written to organizers in crisis who are struggling with the conflicts, heartbreaks, and catastrophes that activists so often experience. From grief to exhaustion, fractured relationships, state violence and interpersonal violence, the struggle for justice can be tumultuous. Each letter invites the reader to the writer’s particular world in abortion defense, organizing within prison walls, recuperating from state repression after the 2020 uprisings, or as a new parent struggling to find their way in movement spaces, and offers an authentic account of moving through difficult times.

Personal, reflective, and hopeful, Read This When Things Fall Apart is a new type of book for radicals that harnesses the writers’ individual moments of despair into living, breathing wisdom capable of chipping away at the supposed inevitability of fascist life. Restorative like a letter from a trusted friend and invigorating like a story from a mentor, the book is an indispensable companion for all of us navigating the challenging times ahead.

Review

I really enjoyed reading this book and all of the different letters to organizers in crisis. There were so many different perspectives and the letters were directed towards many different types of organizers for many different reasons. Each was a personal story along with being in support of the individuals they were speaking to. While some letters applied more to me than others I do believe there was something important to learn and read in each one. Though I also think someone could pick up this book and read just the letters that seem directed to them. I feel like I will return to this book multiple times to learn more and find ideas for how to deal with everything. This is an great book for anyone to read if they are feeling burned out by what is going on and looking for a way forward.

Additional reviews and warnings can be found on the StoryGraph page for “Read This When Things Fall Apart”.

Book Details

Editor’s Website: Kelly Hayes
Publisher / Date: AK Press, November 2025
Genre: Essays
Page Count: 172
Completion Date: November 9, 2025

“Autistic and Black” Review

Posted on October 10, 2025October 11, 2025 by Jen

“Autistic and Black: Our Experiences of Growth, Progress and Empowerment” by Kala Allen Omeiza

In this powerful insight into the lives of Black autistic people, Kala Allen Omeiza brings together a community of voices from across the world, spanning religions, sexuality and social economic status to provide a deep and rich understanding of what it means to be autistic and Black.

Exploring everything from self-love and appreciation, to the harsh realities of police brutality, anti-Black racism, and barriers to care, as well as amplifying the voices of the inspiring advocates who actively work towards change, protection, and acceptance for themselves and others, this book is an empowering force, reminding you that as a Black autistic person, you are enough.

Review

This book is a really good look at the realities of being both Autistic and Black. I feel like this is a really important book for people to read along with the books “NeuroTribes” by Steve Silberman and “We’re Not Broken” by Eric Garcia as it adds additional perspectives to the conversation about autism and how it impacts people differently. There are a lot of great interviews and stories in this book. I thought the author did a great job providing a variety of perspectives. There are Black Autistic individuals from various locations in Africa as well as the United Kingdom and the United States. There are also people of different ages, including children as young as 9. The author does a good job making sure their point of view is expressed without interference or assumptions. There is a good mixture of how individuals view autism and how it has impacted their lives for good and bad. It also has a reminder of the multiple reasons why person first language is sometimes necessary. It can be a matter of safety to avoid calling attention to any perceived difference – especially for Black and Brown individuals who may already be viewed with suspicion by authorities.

Book Details

The cover of Autistic and Black is various shades of orange in red in with a pale orange outline and then a darker orange middle with the title and subtitle at the top casing a darker red shadow diagonally down and to the right. There is a diagonal line resulting from this across the page and at the bottom a little orange snail is making its way upwards. The Authors name is at the bottom.

Author’s Website: Kala Allen Omeiza
Publisher / Date: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, February 2024
Genre: Essay Collection
Page Count: 224
Completion Date: October 3, 2025

“Disabling Intelligences” Review

Posted on October 4, 2025October 5, 2025 by Jen

“Disabling Intelligences: Legacies of Eugenics and How We are Wrong about AI” by Rua M. Williams

This book discusses the influences of eugenics on the AI industry and the impacts of AI opportunism on disabled people. Why are the negative consequences of so-called AI so consistently directed at disabled and racialized people? Disabling Intelligences answers this question by detailing the ongoing effects of the eugenicist mindset on our corporate ventures and our interpersonal relationships. It offers an accessible guide to the various meanings, methods, and impacts of AI, and provides a clear framework for classifying, categorizing, evaluating, and critiquing AI projects. Bridging the gap between STS and critical disability studies, the author centers disabled experiences to present a novel framework that helps readers transform their understandings of citizenship, consumerism, social movements, journalism, engineering, research, and scholarship.

An ideal reading for academics at all levels interested in AI technologies across the social sciences and humanities, as well as engineering and computer science, this groundbreaking short monograph challenges our understanding and assumptions about technology, encompassing the history of AI and disability from popular culture to real-life case-studies. Readers will come away from this text equipped with a clarity of perception and a toolkit for evaluating and resisting metaeugenics in technology.

Review

This was a really good look at how we think we’re using AI and the ways that it plays into ideas of eugenics. It’s another example of a technological fix for things that require societal changes in how we view work and ability to work. There are many example of past technology fixes that have been thought up to solve problems related to disability that were subsequently abandoned leaving people behind. Will AI be another one of those things. We think we need AI to solve our problems but how many additional problems does AI create in the process of using it? I think the author does a great job providing examples of AI in media and what our assumptions have been regarding those portrayals.The author also breaks down the different types of AI usage and what we think they can be used for while showing the various issues that occur as a result. While this is an academic book I felt like it was relatively easy to read and get through quickly as I felt like the author was very good at explaining things in a way that many people can undrestand.

Book Details

The cover of Disabling Intelligences is red with yellow leaves arranged around the top, left side and bottom of the cover with the title and authors name in the center right side.

Author’s Website: Rua M. Williams (BlueSky)
Publisher / Date: Palgrave Macmillan Cham, September 2025
Genre / Topics: Essays, Disability Studies, Artificial Intelligence
Page Count: 136
Completion Date: September 27, 2025

“The Ending Fire” Review

Posted on October 4, 2025October 4, 2025 by Jen

“The Ending Fire” (The Ending Fire Trilogy No. 3) by Saara El-Arifi

The Wardens’ Empire is falling. A vigilante known only as the “Truthsayer” is raising an army against the wardens. Sylah and Hassa must navigate the politics of this new world, all the while searching for Anoor.

Across the sea the Blood Forged prepare for war, requesting aid from other governments. Jond’s role as Major General sees him training their soldiers for combat, but it’s matters of the heart that prove to be the hardest battlefield.

The Zalaam celebrate the arrival of the Child of Fire, heralding the start of the final battle. Anoor’s doubts are eclipsed by the powers of her new god. Soon the Zalaam set off on their last voyage–one few expect to return from.

Review

I thought this was a good conclusion to the trilogy with a lot of things happening all at once. I really enjoyed the different point of views in the book and the way things developed for the characters. There were several things happening throughout the book to bring things to the final confrontation and I thought it was well done. I did like the ending and I felt like it was a good one for most of the characters involved. That said I was a little baffled by the ending for two of the characters and felt like it was a little too vague in the sense that we don’t fully know what happened to them.

Additional reviews and warnings can be found on the StoryGraph page for “The Ending Fire”.

Book Details

The cover is taken up by a white tile pattern that has a gold stripe through the bottom half and gold fire at the top right and bottom left corners. The title is written in the center the authors name at the bottom.

Author’s Website: Saara El-Arifi
Publisher / Date: Del Ray, September 2024
Genre: Fantasy
Page Count: 464
Completion Date: September 26, 2025

“The Iron Garden Sutra” Review

Posted on September 14, 2025October 2, 2025 by Jen

“The Iron Garden Sutra” by A.D. Sui

Vessel Iris has devoted himself to the Starlit Order, performing funeral rites for the dead across the galaxy, guiding souls back into the Infinite Light. Despite the comfort he wants to believe he brings to the dead, his relationships with his fellow Vessels are distant at best, leaving him reliant on his AI implant for companionship.

The spaceship Counsel of Nicaea has been lost for more than a thousand years. A relic of Earth’s dying past, humanity took the ship to the stars on a multi-generation journey to find another habitable planet yet never reached its destination. Its sudden appearance has attracted a team of academics eager to investigate its archeological history. And Iris has been assigned to bring peace to the crew’s long departed souls.

Carpeted in moss and intertwined with vines, Nicaea is more forest than ship. But Nicaea’s plant life isn’t the only sentience to have survived in the past millennia. Something onboard is stalking the explorers one by one. And Iris with his AI enhancement may be their only hope for survival. . .

Review

This was such a great read! I really loved the worldbuilding and the character developments throughout the book. Iris was such an interesting character to get know along with his AI companion. It’s interesting reading about a character having an AI companion considering what’s going on today but I liked the way the author handled the whole situation. I really liked the way Iris ended up developing various connections and relationships with everyone in the group (especially one character). I really enjoyed the way various histories of the characters ended up being told as they got to know each other.

I thought the balance of character development and solving the actual mystery of the ship was well done. Things happened in a way that necessitated characters talking to each other in a way that made sense. The potential story of that happened on the ship in the past is all too realistic given how generational knowledge is lost over the years. The way everything worked out was also interesting. I did wish for confirmation on one plot, but it’s okay that it was not shown. I also liked the way a specific relationship developed and the way things played out even if the ending felt too abrupt. I did think it made sense given the rest of the story that whatever might happen next was not the focus of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Erewhon Books and A.D. Sui for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details

The cover of the book is yellow with two circles with various spheres on top in orbit around a space station with multiple modules. Below the circles is a triangular shape with a human skull over it and red vines growing around it. The title is written one word on each line down the center with the author's name at the bottom.

Author’s Website: A.D. Sui
Publisher / Date: Erewhon Books, February 2026
Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Page Count: 384
Completen Date: September 14, 2025