A memoir-in-essays from disability advocate and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty Rebekah Taussig, processing a lifetime of memories to paint a beautiful, nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most.
Growing up as a paralyzed girl during the 90s and early 2000s, Rebekah Taussig only saw disability depicted as something monstrous (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), inspirational (Helen Keller), or angelic (Forrest Gump). None of this felt right; and as she got older, she longed for more stories that allowed disability to be complex and ordinary, uncomfortable and fine, painful and fulfilling.
Writing about the rhythms and textures of what it means to live in a body that doesn’t fit, Rebekah reflects on everything from the complications of kindness and charity, living both independently and dependently, experiencing intimacy, and how the pervasiveness of ableism in our everyday media directly translates to everyday life.
Disability affects all of us, directly or indirectly, at one point or another. By exploring this truth in poignant and lyrical essays, Taussig illustrates the need for more stories and more voices to understand the diversity of humanity. Sitting Pretty challenges us as a society to be patient and vigilant, practical and imaginative, kind and relentless, as we set to work to write an entirely different story.
REBEKAH TAUSSIG, PH.D. is a Kansas City writer and teacher with her doctorate in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies. She has led workshops and presentations at the University of Michigan, University of Kansas, and Davidson College on disability representation, identity, and community. She also runs the Instagram platform @sitting_pretty where she crafts “mini-memoirs” to contribute nuance to the collective narratives being told about disability in our culture. She lives with two cranky orange cats and one angsty-tender human.
"Rebekah writes in a way that is somehow both world-shakingly profound and beautifully intimate. Her voice is unforgettable in its power to make you feel, question, learn, and grow. There aren't words for how much the world needs this book." — Megan Jayne Crabbe, bestselling author of Body Positive Power
“A disability advocate debuts with a collection offering potent rejoinders to ableism…..A fierce and fabulous revision to entrenched ableist scripts.” — Kirkus Reviews [Starred Review]
"Sitting Pretty is the book I needed years ago as I grappled with my sense of self and my identity as a disabled woman. I put it down while reading only long enough to collect myself each time waves of emotion crashed over me. Rebekah's spunky, self-aware wit, combined with education that never feels didactic, make this book a worthwhile and rewarding read." — Emily Ladau, writer, speaker, and disability rights activist
"Rebekah Taussig's writing is a gift that keeps giving. Her voice is honest, vulnerable and welcoming...It was a joy to read and listen to Rebekah's words. This beautiful book helped me ask questions, open my heart, and remind me to look more closely at the world around me and what small part we can all have in making it a better, more accessible one." — Grace Bonney, founder of Design*Sponge and author of In the Company of Women
"A compelling personal book whose confidential voice leads the reader into the author’s vividly lived world of disability. Smart and funny, [Sitting Pretty] does double duty revealing not only the intimate life of a disabled woman but the flaws of the world around her that seeks to repress and contain her." — Lennard J. Davis, Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of Enforcing Normalcy and My Sense of Silence: Memoirs of a Childhood with Deafness
“An invaluable, eye-opening look at disability from a firsthand perspective.” — Booklist
“Her smart and witty observations about living with disabilities will be enlightening and eye-opening for readers.” — Publishers Weekly
“Reflecting on her journey toward disability advocacy, Rebekah Taussig's memoir in essays will make you rethink everything you've previously believed about disabled people and their lives. Reflecting on Taussig's personal experiences, and on disability representation more broadly, Sitting Pretty is a rare book from a powerful, new voice.” — Bustle
"A groundbreaking and candid memoir" — Shelf Awareness
“Taussig’s narrative style is highly conversational, making it feel like one is chatting with a lifelong friend. Her ability to bring levity to a topic some may find taboo is certain to help spread her message of acceptance and love.”
— Library Journal (starred review)
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Situated on the main street of the historic Delaware Riverfront town of New Hope, Pennsylvania, Farley’s Bookshop and its knowledgeable, experienced staff have endeavored to satisfy the literary tastes of the area inhabitants for over fifty years. Whether you are Bucks County born-and-bred or just stopping by to enjoy the crisp river air and delightful scenery, you will be pleasantly surprised to find the largest and most diverse collection of books-in-print in Bucks County. Farley’s may have competition, but it has few peers. We encourage you to browse our website, but please remember that getting acquainted with our online persona is no substitute for exploring the narrow passageways and teeming shelves of our storefront and discovering that perfect book nestled amongst so many others.
New Hope for American Art is the most comprehensive book ever published on artists from, and surrounding, the New Hope Art Colony (also known as the Pennsylvania Impressionists). This book, with its 612 pages and over 1,000 color plates of artwork include biographies of 165 individual Pennsylvania Impressionists and New Hope Modernists as well as artists from the Philadelphia Ten, a pioneering group of women all educated at Philadelphia art schools.
In this book, you'll find biographies and artwork from such artists as:
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New Hope for American Art was authored, designed and published by James M. Alterman, an expert in the field of Pennsylvania Impressionist and Modernist painting. A longtime collector and owner of two fine art galleries, Alterman wanted to create a user-friendly book intended not only to educate collectors and enthusiasts about this art but to help train one's eye. The book offers valuable tips on how to avoid common mistakes often experienced by new collectors drawn from the author's personal experiences as a collector and fine art dealer.