#VSGetsLit Book Club: May Staff Picks

Here are 5 books that explore disability as culture, political identity, creative force, and lived experience by women of color

Photo by Shantanu Kumar on Pexels

Let’s catch you up with what has been happening at VanguardSTEM! This month, we hosted a book club giveaway featuring Tiffany A. Yu and her book “The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World” We gave away a FREE copy each week this month! Follow us on our social media platforms or read our recent article to get all the details.

VanguardSTEM #VSGetsLit May Book Club Featured author, Tiffany A. Yu (left) and the cover graphics to her book, “The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World (right). Photo by and Legacy Lit Publishing respectively.

Let’s continue expanding our book club! This time with top picks about disability justice from women of color authors. These books stretch far beyond medical view of disability and challenge us to rethink productivity, independence, and “normalcy”. Additionally, they largely intersect with race, gender, queerness, healing, and activism. From personal essays and art activism to rich prose, there’s something here for everyone.

Editor’s note: By no means is this meant to be an exhaustive list. We are not affiliated with the authors, nor responsible for the content or publication choice of any book below, unless specifically indicated. We simply want to #AmplifyBlackSTEM and #AmplifyBIPOCinSTEM by sharing books with our VanguardSTEM community.

Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Cover graphic of Care Work. Image credit to Arsenal Pulp Press.

“We have mad crip dreams. In those dreams there exists a decolonized, liberated future in which none of our bodies and lives are disposable. Leah reminds us that turning these dreams into radical practices has already been done, is happening right now within disability justice movements, and will continue to build a future where we are all free. This book is a touchstone for our journey.” ―Qwo-Li Driskill, author of Asegi Stories: Cherokee Queer and Two-Spirit Memory

Transformative justice that’s both political and deeply personal, check! A disability justice framework rooted in queer and BIPOC communities, check! Piepzna-Samarasinha takes a deep dive into how community support can be revolutionary, ensuring to leave out all the hustle culture that has been nothing but exhausting. If you’re involved in any type activism, organizing, or caregiving, you’ll connect strongly with the refreshing take of this book.

Crip Kinship: The Disability Justice & Art Activism of Sins Invalid by Shayda Kafai

Cover graphic of Kindling. Image credit to Arsenal Pulp Press.

Sins Invalid, a queer disability justice performance project, is the subject of this empowering and revolutionary book. The history of the organization’s art and activism is explored and expanded on as Kafai shares the wisdom and lessons disabled, queer, and trans people of color have for collective survival. She also looks at what disability justice is capable of. — Autostraddle

This book explores the art activism of Sins Invalid, a San Francisco Bay Area-based performance project, which centers queer disability justice. It focuses on many facets such as crip beauty (“crip” reclaimed as a source of power, self-love, and connection to our own bodies) and sexuality to crafting digital kinship. For the art enthusiast that wants to delve into the intersection of art activism and disability justice, this one is for you!

P.S. Discover their multi-media resources and project histories directly on the Sins Invalid Official Website.

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong

Cover graphic of Kindling. Image credit to Vintage Books.

“A raw, emotional collection, an investment in the power of storytelling to foster vibrant connections, and an unapologetic rejection of ‘internalized ableism’. . . . The 37 powerful stories in Disability Visibility reveal the depth of everyday courage and the extraordinary human capacity to find humor in the face of life’s adversities.” — Shelf Awareness

A product of many incredible contributors, this work balances emotional storytelling with broader social critique. What started out as an online storytelling initiative from Wong’s Disability Visibility Project later materialized into a physical book. The wide array of voices and backgrounds in the form of personal essays from disabled authors make this a great choice for those that are new to the world of disability literature.

P.S. There’s a different edition for ages 12+! *Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults)*

P.P.S. The Disability Visibility Project has now expanded into a podcast as well! There’s also a Disability Visibility Podcast resource guide.

Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Girma

Cover graphic of Kindling. Image credit to Hachette Book Group.

*Girma…is a talented narrator who captures defining moments in her life in a series of lyrical cameos. She writes with remarkable assurance and yet with a lightness of touch when tackling difficult issues. [A] profoundly important memoir.* — The Times

Haben Girma is the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School and this memoir recounts her amazing journey from isolation to the world stage. Girma takes us by the hand to model disability as an opportunity for innovation. Also, this book has garnered much public attention being showcased in the New York Times, Oprah Magazine, and the Today Show! If you like feeling all the feels from funny, thoughtful, and inspiring, say less!

P.S. Grab the Reading Group Discussion Questions to go all in!

Kindling: Writings On The Body by Aurora Levins Morales

Cover graphic of Kindling. Image credit to Palabrera Press.

*“*Medically, ‘kindling’ refers to the way bodies can be sensitized by small, repeated exposures to chemicals or electric shocks. Aurora’s essays and poems about the human body’s responses to oppression describe both the kindling of disease and of consciousness, fragments of tinder that ignite into a blazing awareness of our bodies as sites of struggle and transformation.” — Casimira Fuentes O’Neill, M.D.**

A collection of rich poetic prose and meditative essays, Levins Morales reimagines healing as both political and personal. She covers a little bit of everything from chronic illness, trauma, resilience, and inherited histories. If you appreciate feminist and decolonial perspectives, then you’ve found your match!

This article was originally published on May 29, 2026 on VanguardSTEM.com as part of our #VSGetsLit series.

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