Dispatches from Disabled Country

Disability is not our worst-case scenario; it is a force to be reckoned with, a prism of insight and experience that refracts new light upon our fundamental ideals of justice, beauty, and community. Catherine Frazee has been a central figure in the disability rights landscape in Canada for decades, and her work presents an unwavering, fierce commitment to engage in public debate from a position that centres the lives of disabled people.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 09 June 2023
Publisher: University of British Columbia Press

“Disability is not our worst-case scenario – our worst-case scenario would be its annihilation.”
This is the starting point for this powerful collection of writing by and about Catherine Frazee, disability activist, Officer of the Order of Canada, and poetic scholar of justice.

For Frazee, disability is not something to be dreaded or overcome but a force to be reckoned with – a prism of insight and experience that refracts new light upon our fundamental ideals of justice, beauty, and community.

Catherine Frazee has been a central figure in the disability rights landscape in Canada for decades. Her reasoned and passionate insights are topical and often ahead of their time. Always bold, always progressive, and frequently provocative, Frazee's work presents an unwavering, fierce commitment to engage in public debate from a position that centres the lives of disabled people.

Taken together, these writings chronicle the rising consciousness of a social movement of disabled people staking their claim in public policy and popular culture, a claim that is overdue for honest recognition.

Disability is not a tragedy but a source of strength and resilience. It is not a burden to be borne but a gift to be embraced. It is not a barrier to be overcome but a doorway to new possibilities.

And yet, the dominant narrative around disability is one of pity, of limitation, of exclusion. We see it as a problem to be solved, a condition to be treated, a disability to be overcome.

But what if we saw disability as a lens through which we could see the world in a new way? What if we saw it as a source of insight and wisdom, as a way of understanding the world in a deeper and more meaningful way?

That is what Catherine Frazee's writing is all about. She takes us on a journey through the lives of disabled people, showing us the ways in which they are uniquely able to see the world and the ways in which they are uniquely able to contribute to it.

She shows us that disability is not a barrier to success but a catalyst for it. She shows us that disability is not a weakness but a strength. She shows us that disability is not a tragedy but a celebration.

And she shows us that disability is not something to be feared or avoided but something to be embraced and celebrated.

In this collection of writing, Catherine Frazee challenges us to think about disability in a new way. She challenges us to see it as a force for good, as a source of insight and wisdom, as a way of understanding the world in a deeper and more meaningful way.

She shows us that disability is not something to be feared or avoided but something to be embraced and celebrated. And she shows us that it is possible to create a world in which disabled people are fully included, respected, and valued.

This collection of writing is a testament to the power of disability and the power of the human spirit. It is a call to action, a call to embrace and celebrate disability, and a call to create a world in which all people are fully included, respected, and valued.

So let us take up the challenge that Catherine Frazee presents us with. Let us embrace and celebrate disability. Let us create a world in which all people are fully included, respected, and valued.

Because, as Catherine Frazee reminds us, disability is not our worst-case scenario – our worst-case scenario would be its annihilation.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780774868686