Year In Review: 2024

Hi everyone,

In July 10 years ago  I founded the Disability Visibility Project. I still have trouble believing all that I’ve done and how much has changed. I was happy working as a research associate at UC San Francisco but my side project, collecting oral histories in partnership with StoryCorps, lit a fire in me. It was so gratifying to encourage the disability community to participate and record their stories and have them archived at the Library of Congress. The idea of leaving something behind for future generations of disabled people about who we are and how we lived was something that gave me a lot of joy and purpose. Thus, the Disability Visibility Project was born. In the early years it was self funded by me and a true labor of love. I didn’t have a detailed plan or clear idea of what it would become and I think that was a gift because it gave me space to explore, experiment, and learn from my mistakes. Fast forward to today and the DVP expanded to a podcast, guest essays by over a hundred disabled writers, two anthologies, a memoir, a newsletter, and a bunch of partnerships with other disabled artists, activists, and scholars. I don’t know what’s in store for the DVP in the next ten years but I know it’ll champion disability culture and address the pressing issues of our time.

This has been a year filled with ups and downs. In January I was in the ICU and had one of the most terrifying experiences there. I turned 50 in March which is wild because I was always told as a  child I wouldn’t reach adulthood, in April my latest book, Disability Intimacy, came out, all spring, summer and now I have been going through some health problems, I was named a MacArthur fellow in October, and here we are now with a new administration in a few weeks. This year has been chaotic but I am grateful to have friends and family who care about me. And people like you. 

I love to collaborate and build relationships and that has been a hallmark of almost everything I do and this is rooted in a deep love for my community. The power of community has been a lifeline for me, especially two years ago when I was hospitalized and nearly died numerous times. But I survived and came away with a radically changed body with significant care needs. I still miss the old me that would be able to talk and eat, but that’s disabled life, one of constant adaptation. Thanks to community, a go fund me was created by my friend Yomi that kept me afloat, covering my family’s out of pocket expenses for additional home care workers. When times are bleak and dark, filled with uncertainty, such as what happened to me two years ago or what happened with the news of the election results, I think about our community and how we will always be there for each other, how we will always respond and innovate in the face of oppression, harm, and danger. I think about our disabled ancestors like Stacey Park Milbern who had such clarity on the work in front of us and the work ahead, the organizing, scheming, and dreaming that will provide mutual aid and community care under a fascist ableist state. My heart is full when I am with my people like today. I can feel our strength, resolve, and infinite love. 

Thank you for your support and friendship. 

Onward and upward,

Alice