Accidents of Nature

For some unfathomable reason the publisher issued this via their "childrens book" imprint. The implication that this is not for a mature audience may have kept it from getting the notice it deserves. Harriet McBryde Johnson is a great story-teller and that most of her stories reflect her own experience is natural. That they also have broader social/political ramifications (without being "preachy") is equally important. This is a milestone in disability rights literature largely because it gets so much of significance about the "movement" across in a format that should be accessible to mainstream folks. Love.

Jean always believed that she was just like everyone else: a pretty, popular, high school senior. The fact that she used a wheelchair did not matter to her, or to anyone. That was before she arrived at Camp Courage. It is there that she meets Sara, an assertive, outspoken, disability rights advocate who makes Jean question everything she thought she knew about herself and the world. Jean begins to learn about disability pride and that being different can be an empowering experience. I went to a camp for people with disabilities for many years. I always had a good time there and look back on that time in my life with fond memories. I always felt respected as a person with only a couple exceptions. Reading about Jean's experience made me glad that I went to the camp I attended. I do not think anyone there was evil. It was just interesting to read the seemingly divergent viewpoints of the campers and staff. I also found it fascinating reading about living with a disability in a time before any civil rights protections had been enacted for people with disabilities. The epilogue was frustrating for me, until I realized this was probably a true story. Books like this make me realize how important it is for me to be involved in disability advocacy. I am very glad I read this book and even if you do not have a disability, I think the themes of discovering who you are and who you want to be are very relatable.

This novel is fresh and unique, and will open your mind and your eyes to a differenty way of viewing the world. Like much of her work in the disability rights arena, and her essays, Harriet McBryde Johnson challenges traditional notions of normality. She may also be giving us a peek into what she, herself, was like as a teenager--fiercely intelligent, independent, and a bit of a troublemaker. That alone is worth the price of admission.

"Accidents of Nature" Harriet McBryde Johnson Henry Hole & Co. New York Review by Taylor and Michael Bailey It is not easy to place "Accidents of Nature" into a neat category. Is it a novel for young adults? A treatise on disability culture? Or, simply, a well-crafted story of how one woman learns that, by accepting others, she comes to accept herself? The basic tale is simple. Jean, a 17-year-old woman with Cerebral Palsy, has always attended school with "normal" classmates. Her protective family has done everything possible to ignore Jean's differences and provide her with all the trappings of life without a disability. Jean confronts some very real truths about herself, her disability, and her connection to other people with disabilities when she faces a week of summer camp. The typically named "Camp Courage" caters entirely to people with disabilities and it is they she must deal with during her week away from family, home and her regular circle of "friends." We read this book with care. Partly because it is a good read and partly because our daughter/sister is 18-years-old and is a person with Down syndrome. Like the character, Jean, from the book, she has always been in "regular" classrooms and had school friends with no disabilities. What we have learned is that her friendships only go so far. Her "friends," like Jean's, only pursue her, or tolerate her, within the bounds of school. Although no one is actually mean to her, it is clear to everyone that she is different and that there are limits on how much time and energy her classmates are willing to devote. And, like Jean, she has learned a lot about herself by going to a place called Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp, which, like the fictional "Camp Courage" is for people with disabilities only. Jean has been exposed to politically correct people and circumstance. So she is quite shocked when she meets Sara. Sara calls the camp "Crip Camp" and promptly labels Jean as "Spazzo." Jean is quite distressed by these characterizations and her fellow campers whose facial deformities, speech, lack of coordination and odd behavior shock and, at the same time, intrigue her. Throughout her week at Crip Camp Jean is exposed to "the world according to Sara." Sara ridicules the notion of charity, the pomposity of the camps sponsors and the whole culture of "do-gooders." Sara revels in her disability. She also manages to get poor Jean into a lot of hot water with her comments and misbehavior. As the week moves along Jean comes to see more and more that Sara's seemingly mocking and tasteless behavior carries with it a seed of truth that no one has every expressed before in her presence. It becomes clear to Jean that, like it or not, Sara is telling the truth and that she, Jean, has a mysterious connection with all the other campers that regular school, determined parents and a blind eye cannot erase. Jean finds, at camp, a window on a whole new view of life that makes her happier and sadder, wiser and more

Seventeen-year-old Jean has always believed she is the same as everyone else, even though she has cerebral palsy and has to get around in a wheelchair. Jean goes to a normal high school, is in academic clubs, and likes to go to the movies with her friends. She has never known another person living with a disability until she goes to Camp Courage during the summer of 1970 and begins to see herself, and the world around her, in a whole new light. There she meets a whole community of other children and young adults living with various disabilities. When Jean arrives at the camp, she first encounters Dolly, a girl with severe CP who provides some comical moments throughout the book, as she likes to talk about her love of late-night talk show host Johnny Carson and her highly anticipated risque novella she's been writing. Then Jean meets Sara, a Camp Courage veteran who introduces her to the "Crip Camp" and some other campers. She nicknames Jean "Spazzo" and tells her about some of the social circles that make up the camp. Jean soon discovers that her wisecracking cabin mate has radical ideas, especially when it comes to how people with disabilities are viewed by society, and is often angry by the lack of respect that she and many other campers receive. Through the social commentary on this topic and many others in the book, it is not too difficult to see what issues have been dramatically improved since 1970 and which are still being debated today in 2006. While Jean socializes with the other campers, she begins to question some of her old beliefs and what the definition of "normal" is in her world. By the end of those enlightening 10 days, her life is changed forever. While there are some social issues in ACCIDENTS OF NATURE that may make some readers uncomfortable, such as the dance party scene (I thought some of those counselors would have been sued today for misconduct and sexual harassment), this is a great story and an eye-opener. It helps to show that even if a person has a physical or mental challenge, it does not mean that they can't lead a normal life nor does it mean that they shouldn't be given the same level of respect as everyone else. I understand this unfortunate social disgrace because I've been there. Harriet McBryde Johnson has been an activist for disability rights for many years, and her adult memoir, TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG, was published in 2005. ACCIDENTS OF NATURE is highly recommended as an addition to your "must read" list. --- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle (SdarksideG@aol.com)