Disability Archives - Page 2 of 12 - Made of Stardust and Stubbornness

“The Martian Contingency” Review

Posted on July 14, 2025August 8, 2025 by Jen

“The Martian Contingency” (Lady Astronaut No. 4) by Mary Robinette Kowal

Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, D.C.—triggering an extinction-level global warming event—Earth’s survivors have started an international effort to establish homes on space stations and the Moon. The next step – Mars.

Elma York, the Lady Astronaut, lands on the Red Planet, optimistic about preparing for the first true wave of inhabitants. The mission objective is more than just building the infrastructure of a habitat – they are trying to preserve the many cultures and nuances of life on Earth without importing the hate. But from the moment she arrives, something is off.

Disturbing signs hint at a hidden disaster during the First Mars Expedition that never made it into the official transcript. As Elma and her crew try to investigate, they face a wall of silence and obfuscation. Their attempts to build a thriving Martian community grind to a halt. What you don’t know CAN harm you. And if the truth doesn’t come to light, the ripple effects could leave humanity stranded on a dying Earth…

Review

I have mixed feelings about this one. While this book switches back to Elma’s story I felt like some of the issues I had with her personality were toned down a bit in a way that made sense being several years later. That said majority of the book felt off because of the way people had been keeping secrets. And then those secrets caused harm to the current crew on Mars. While actually happened during the first expedition actually makes sense all things considered there are some parts of it that still feel off. I don’t want to spoil it but there were things that happened that were essentially allowed to happen because of racism and then additional choices were made as a result of that. The parts I’m not sure about have more to do it the initial aftermath than the event itself. Some choices make sense some do not.

Besides the central mystery I feel like the author did a lot with this book and tried to address many different issues at once for good and bad. There’s still a huge gap about what actually will happen to people who are still on earth – especially disabled people. But the point of the book is that the people who have journeyed to Mars are trying to do the work to learn how to work and live together on a new planet without requiring the support of Earth. I liked the details the author included about the various holidays and traditions of everyone in the crew. I did feel like some things got shoehorned in as an effort to be inclusive and trying to be more understanding.

The disability aspect is still a sticking point for me in this series. Due to various events there are two characters who become disabled during the course of the book. There’s some of talk about keeping them on Mars because it’s home and they’ve earned staying there. Which is all well and good but it does nothing to indicate what will happen to people with disabilities on Earth who can’t make it into space even if they were going to be allowed to in the first place. What it does do is serve as a reminder that debilitating accidents will happen and people become disabled and need support.

Warnings and additional reviews can be found the StoryGraph Page for “Martian Contingency”.

Book Details

The Martian Contingency cover is mostly yellow/gold with shades of orange red on the left side. At the bottom right corner there is a black image two people in space suites standing on a cliff overlooking a base in the distance on the bottom right. The title of the book is in the center with the authors name above it.

Author’s Website: Mary Robinette Kowal
Publisher / Date: Tor Books, March 2025
Genre: Science Fiction, Alternate History
Page Count: 388
Completion Date: July 12, 2025

“The Relentless Moon” Review

Posted on July 12, 2025July 27, 2025 by Jen

“The Relentless Moon” (Lady Astronaut No. 3) by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Earth is coming to the boiling point as the climate disaster of the Meteor strike becomes more and more clear, but the political situation is already overheated. Riots and sabotage plague the space program. The IAC’s goal of getting as many people as possible off Earth before it becomes uninhabitable is being threatened.

Elma York is on her way to Mars, but the Moon colony is still being established. Her friend and fellow Lady Astronaut Nicole Wargin is thrilled to be one of those pioneer settlers, using her considerable flight and political skills to keep the program on track. But she is less happy that her husband, the Governor of Kansas, is considering a run for President.

Review

I have to be honest and say that I really liked Nicole, the main character in this book, more than Elma in the others. Nicole doesn’t have the “well intended but clueless white person” problem that Elma has along with some other frustrating personality quarks. Nicole seems to be more aware of the issues which has a lot to do with her husband’s work in politics. I also think this book does a better job acknowledging that there are people who will never be able to leave Earth. While there are a couple relevant plot points in the story that impacts a few things, disabled people are still largely still ignored. There’s also the obvious issue that not enough as been done to help the people in the ares most impacted by the Meteor strike who weren’t killed outright. Many of the worst off are largely minorities or poor and uneducated individuals who don’t have the same opportunities as others. I don’t want to spoil the ending too much but there were at least some indications that there would be additional focus on those individuals on Earth as well as supporting the move to the Moon and Mars.

The overall plot of this book was a bit more contained with the issues on the Moon taking up much of the focus. Unfortunately some parts of this book are spoiled by the previous book as the author hadn’t initially planned to write this one. Because this book takes place in the same time as the second book there is a lot overlap in information about what is happening on Earth. However I still think it makes for a good read even though you go in knowing some of what was going to happen. In some ways I had more fun reading this one than the previous two books because of how much I liked Nicole and her friendships with the other characters. Elma is focused on numbers and the big picture knowledge that Earth is in trouble and if humanity is to survive getting off Earth is vital. Nicole ends up being more detail oriented and worried about everyone.

Warnings and additional reviews can be found on the StoryGraph page for “The Relentless Moon”

Book Details

The Relentless Moon book cover. The background of the cover is entirely taken up with an image of the moon with red lines showing the structure of the moonrise. At the bottom are black images of several people wearing spacesuits walking forwards. The author's name is at the top with the title in the center.

Author’s Website: Mary Robinette Kowal
Publisher / Date: Tor Books, July 2020
Genre: Science Fiction, Alternate History
Page Count: 542
Completion Date: July 11, 2025

“Lost In a Desert World” Review

Posted on July 2, 2025July 27, 2025 by Jen

“Lost in a Desert World: An Autobiography” by Roland Johnson, as told to Karl Williams

Roland Johnson’s autobiography is the triumphant story of a man who rose above an intellectual disability and devastating abuse to become a prominent leader in the self-advocacy movement.

As a child, Roland was sent away to live at the infamous Pennhurst State School in Pennsylvania, where he was sexually assaulted and forced to do unpaid manual labor. When he finally got out, he discovered the “real world” had no place for people like him — people who weren’t considered normal or valuable by societal standards.

Through a hospital counseling program, Roland ultimately began to find his voice. He discovered an ability to speak his truth and to fight for other people with disabilities. He would become president of Speaking for Ourselves and bring wide-scale awareness to the struggles faced by people with disabilities, as well as the unique gifts those same people have to offer.

Review

I think this is a really important book to read – it’s not often stories are told by people with intellectual disabilities themselves in their own words. This book was created from a series of audio interviews Karl Williams conducted with Roland Johnson about his life. Roland had wanted to tell his story and Karl helped him do it. The audio was then transcribed and the book written. Karl notes in the Forward of the book that he took care to not change any of Roland’s words other than to add notes clarify a couple things or indicate who someone was. It’s all Roland’s words as he tells his own story. I believe it worked out well – though I did end up confused in a couple places but I think that’s down to not having the same context as he was telling it. Also since it’s from Roland’s point of view it’s the truth as he knows it regardless of additional details that may not be included.

After the sections of the book that are Roland’s autobiography there are also a collection of speeches and interviews Roland gave during his lifetime. Also included were some memorial items that were published after his death. I think the book was well done in that regard and gives a good detailing about who Roland was. As with any posthumously published work it will never be known for sure how much Roland would have liked the way it was presented or ultimately told. However I do believe Karl Williams tried to be faithful to his friend’s life story.

It’s clear that Roland was someone who wanted better things for everyone – especially those currently stuck in institutions that needed to be released. He was often reminding people of that situation and also talked a lot about “who is in control?” if disabled people aren’t in control of their own lives something is wrong. He wanted disabled people to be able to take control of their one lives and live on their terms, no one else’s.

Note on the language: Roland does use the R-Word throughout the book but at the time he was telling his story that was the only word used for people with intellectual disabilities. He does start talking in the last section of the book about how he wished there was another word to describe his disability and not having to use that word anymore. There’s also some mentioning of low functioning/high functioning that don’t quite work in today’s language preferences. All that said it wouldn’t have made sense to change the language as it wouldn’t have been Roland’s words in the end. He was using the only language he had at the time.

Roland is also very blunt about the abuses he suffered at Pennhurst – it’s not describe graphically but still very clear what happened there.

Book Details

The cover of Lost in a Desert World is taken up by a black and white photograph of Roland wearing a suite standing on the grounds of Pennhurst. The picture is framed with pale brown on the top and bottom where the title and author information are written

Author’s Wikipedia Page: Roland Johnson (1945 – 1994)
Publisher / Date: Speaking for Ourselves, June 1999
Genre: Autobiography
Page Count: 131
Completion Date: July 1, 2025

“An Unkindness of Ghosts” Review

Posted on June 21, 2025July 27, 2025 by Jen

“An Unkindness of Ghosts” by Rivers Solomon

Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She’s used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she were truly a monster, she’d be powerful enough to tear down the walls around her until nothing remains of her world.

Aster lives in the lowdeck slums of the HSS Matilda, a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, Matilda has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship’s leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer, Aster learns there may be a way to improve her lot–if she’s willing to sow the seeds of civil war.

Review

I’ve been meaning to re-read all of Rivers’ earlier books so that I could review them for my blog. This is Rivers’ first and I really enjoyed it. It’s not entirely clear when the ship left Earth or how it ended up the way it did. But it’s also clear that a lot of information has been lost due to time and how bad things have gotten on the ship. The ship is set up so that those who live on the upper decks are white, rich and living comfortably; while everyone in the lower decks who are darker skinned suffers in poverty and near freezing temperatures. It’s a dark and sad story but it does a good job exploring various themes relating to how things were in times of slavery. I also felt like the book did a great job exploring the themes of neurodivergence and gender identity. It may be set in the future but it’s a reminder of how little things change relating to how badly people treat each other. It’s also a story about how people will do whatever it takes to live or die on their own terms.

Along side all this Aster has been attempting to find out more about her mother who she originally believed died at childbirth. Through journals she discovers there is a lot more to the story. I liked the way Aster kept trying to figure everything out despite everything that was happening. While I did feel like the ending chapters were a bit rushed and the ending abrupt, I have to admit it works for the way things played out.

Warnings and additional reviews can be found on the StoryGraph page for “An Unkindness of Ghosts”

Book Details

The cover is a pale field of stars with grays and light blues and in the stars is the face of a young person looking towards the left with their head slightly turned forward and eyes looking forwards too. The face takes up most of the book and the title is written over their forehead and the author's name at the bottom.

Author’s Website: Rivers Solomon
Publisher / Date: Akashic Books / October 2017
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian
Page Count: 349
Completion Date: June 20, 2025

My LTEs, Op-Ed, and Newsletter

Posted on May 20, 2025July 27, 2025 by Jen

I’ve had two Letters to the Editor and an Op-Ed published in Local Newspapers:

Letter: ‘We need to improve our healthcare systems and access to mental health’: Community Advocate May 19, 2025 (Scroll down to the bottom of the page to read the letter)
Opinion/Guest column: Kennedy, Trump not ‘helping disabled: Published in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette on May 4, 2025
Letter: ‘We are all in danger from the current administration’: Published in the Community Advocate April 13, 2025 (Scroll down to the bottom of the page to read the letter)

I also started a newsletter which is primarily a weekly list of disability related news:
Jen’s Newsletter Archive

“The Maid and the Crocodile” Review

Posted on May 10, 2025July 27, 2025 by Jen

“The Maid and the Crocodile” (A Raybearer Story) by Jordan Ifueko

In the magic-soaked capital city of Oluwan, Small Sade needs a job—preferably as a maid, with employers who don’t mind her unique appearance and unlucky foot. But before she can be hired, she accidentally binds herself to a powerful being known only as the Crocodile, a god rumored to devour pretty girls. Small Sade entrances the Crocodile with her secret: she is a Curse Eater, gifted with the ability to alter people’s fates by cleaning their houses.

The handsome god warns that their fates are bound, but Small Sade evades him, launching herself into a new career as the Curse Eater of a swanky inn. She is determined to impress the wealthy inhabitants and earn her place in Oluwan City . . . assuming her secret-filled past—and the revolutionary ambitions of the Crocodile God—don’t catch up with her.

But maybe there is more to Small Sade. And maybe everyone in Oluwan City deserves more, too, from the maids all the way to the Anointed Ones.

Review

I wasn’t entirely sure if this book was going to be my cup of tea because of the romance, but I wanted to give it a chance because it’s set in the same universe as the author’s Raybearer duology which I enjoyed. As it turns out the romance was actually very in the background. Both Small Shade and Crocodile had a lot of things to work through before anything could happen and I loved the story all the more for that. I also really liked the way the author flipped the focus so that we see the commoner point of view of the results of the work done in the original books. While many things were solved by the new rulers in those books, there were a lot of gaps and unintended consequences that Small Shade encountered.

Both characters ended up learning a lot from each other – coming from different worlds and everything that that entails. Small Shade is someone who has long lived under the idea that she must “know her place” and never cause problems because it will only make things worse for her. But there comes a time when making noise and protesting what is happening is just as vital to survival. Crocodile, meanwhile needs to learn what it’s like to not have anything and what not having choices actually means.

I also really liked the disability elements in this story – Small Sade is physically disabled from an accident that crushed her foot, and also dyslexic (though it’s not a diagnosis that exist in this universe). In both cases her disabilities end up adding more to the plot and more ideas for changes.

Additional reviews and warnings can be found on the StoryGraph page for “The Maid and the Crocodile”

Book Details

Author’s Website: Jordan Ifueko
Publisher / Date: Amulet Books, August 2024
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Page Count: 289
Completion Date: May 7, 2025