Cirrus@Austlit

'My body and its place in the world seemed quite normal to me.

'I didn’t grow up disabled, I grew up with a problem. A problem those around me wanted to fix.

'We have all felt that uncanny sensation that someone is watching us.

'The diagnosis helped but it didn’t fix everything.

'Don’t fear the labels.'

'One in five Australians have a disability. And disability presents itself in many ways. Yet disabled people are still underrepresented in the media and in literature.

'Growing Up Disabled in Australia is the fifth book in the highly acclaimed, bestselling Growing Up series. It includes interviews with prominent Australians such as Senator Jordon Steele-John and Paralympian Isis Holt, poetry and graphic art, as well as more than 40 original pieces by writers with a disability or chronic illness.

'Contributors include Dion Beasley, Astrid Edwards, Jessica Walton, Carly-Jay Metcalfe, Gayle Kennedy and El Gibbs.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When I was little, I wanted to have 'normal' skin. I would often pull up my sleeves and look at my forearms, showing them off to the kids at school. These kids weren't really my friends - I didn't have many.' (Introduction)

'In fairytales,the characters who look different are often cast as the villain or monsters. It's only when they shed their unconventional skin that they are seen as "good" or less frightening. There are very few stories where the character that looks different is the hero of the story ... I've been the hero of my story - telling it on my own terms, proud about my facial difference and disability, not wanting a cure for my rare, severe and sometimes confronting skin condition, and knowing that I am beautiful even though I don't have beauty privilege.'

'This bold, brave and moving memoir by award winning writer and appearance activist Carly Findlay will challenge all your assumptions and beliefs about what it is like to have a visibly different appearance. Carly's memoir is about living with a rare skin condition, Ichthyosis. Hers is both a memoir and manifesto on disability and appearance diversity issues.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.