templates

The world wants our lives to fit into a few rigid narrative templates: how I conquered disability (and others can conquer their Bad Things!), how I adjusted to disability (and a positive attitude can move mountains!), how disability made me wise (you can only marvel and hope it never happens to you!), how disability brought me to Jesus (but redemption is waiting for you if only you pray). For me, living a real life has meant resisting those formulaic narratives.

—Harriet McBryde Johnson, Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from a Life