July is Disability Pride Month! Every year, we celebrate the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was passed in the summer of 1990. This month celebrates the resilience of people with disabilities, removes shame and embraces the joy of being disabled. There’s no one way to be disabled—just check out our stories! This year alone, we have several top-tier new books about disability impacting shelves. except for Mother tongueOn top of what I highlighted a while back, I have three more 2026 titles that are perfect for your Disability Pride Month TBR and beyond.
I Identify as Blind: A Shameless Celebration of Disability Culture, Identity, and Power by Lachi
Award-winning recording artist Lachie breaks down harmful stereotypes and perceptions in her new book, I identify as blind. A pioneer, Lachey is the first openly disabled national trustee of the Recording Academy and CEO of RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities). With his distinctive humor and wit, Lachey highlighted disability icons such as Senator Tammy Duckworth, breaking bad star RJ Mitte, Microsoft executive Jenny Le-Flurry, and many others. With each new statistic, Lachey dismantles the shame our enabler society places on disability and shows that our differences can become a source of great strength that benefits everyone.
The Way Home: A Memoir of Losing Yourself, and the Beauty of Return By Cinelle Barnes
In 2023, Cinelle Barnes is sitting in a café working on an article for a travel magazine when she suffers a traumatic brain injury, and her entire life is turned upside down. She was already well into her latest manuscript, a travelogue of her experience returning to the Philippines after moving to America twenty years earlier. Piece by piece, Barnes puts her story back in place, wandering through her memories and trying to restore her understanding of home. Her prose sparkles on the page as she tells us about her life, memories of every delicious dish and inviting smell bringing out some of her most vivid childhood memories.
All My Dead Cats and Other Losses: Practicing Good Grief in a Grief-Afraid Culture from by smith
Was I immediately attracted by the title? Yes. Is this book about pet loss? no way. In this brief collection of thoughts on grief, Smith walks us through the many facets of grief, one of the world’s most complex and misunderstood experiences. They interview everyone from death doulas to funeral home directors to psychologists, and tap into the overwhelming feeling that you’re missing something or a loved one. And, of course, there are cats. Each of Smith’s cat memories is transformed into a new gem of wisdom for living and loving. What is suffering except the proof that we have loved?
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You can find me on my Substack Winchester Avenueon instagram @kdwinchesteror on my podcast read appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at (email protected) For even more bookish content, you can find my articles on Book Riot.
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