Accidents of Nature

By: Harriet McBryde Johnson

Narrated by: Jenna Lamia

Seventeen-year-old Jean has cerebral palsy and gets around in a wheelchair, but she’s always believed she’s just the same as everyone else. She goes to normal school and has normal friends. She’s never really known another disabled person before she arrives at Camp Courage. But there Jean meets Sara, who welcomes her to “Crip Camp” and nicknames her Spazzo. Sara has radical theories about how people fit into society. She’s full of rage and revolution against pitying insults and the lack of respect for people with disabilities.
As Jean joins a community unlike any she has ever imagined, she comes to question her old beliefs and look at the world in a new light. The camp session is only ten days long, but that may be all it takes to change a life forever.©2006 Harriet McBryde Johnson; (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Amazinly Insightful

What did you love best about Accidents of Nature?

This title gave me an insight into what many disabled people must experience in a world that views them as "crips".

What about Jenna Lamia’s performance did you like?

I enjoyed the fact that it was written in first person.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I have a toddler niece who has cerebral palsy and we often try to perceive what her world is and will be like. This book gave me an insight that I have shared with family members since listening. While there were parts that struck a personal defensive chord, it was painfully honest.

above expectation

Profound depth emerges with the exploration of vivid characters and hilarity of dialogues.

brilliant narrator

Wonderful point of view story . You will never look at telephones the same way.
I will enjoy reading more from this author. The narration was exquisite.

Perceptions of the past

I loved listening to this book, because it helped me to compare how we referred to the developmental and intellectually disabled people back the in comparison to now.

Excellent Book

What a fantastic book for young adults with and without disabilities. It touches on important disability rights issues while showing an interdependent community in which all campers are included and valued. It also highlights societies ableist tendencies, including telethons, institutions, discrimination, and employment. Highly recommended!