Listen free for 30 days
-
Sitting Pretty
- The View from My Ordinary, Resilient, Disabled Body
- Narrated by: Rebekah Taussig
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Essays
People who bought this also bought...
-
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century
- Unabridged Selections
- By: Alice Wong
- Narrated by: Alejandra Ospina, Alice Wong
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent - but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people.
-
-
Everyone should listen!
- By Anonymous User on 20-07-20
-
Being Heumann
- An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
- By: Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner
- Narrated by: Ali Stroker
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn't built for all of us and of one woman's activism - from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington - Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann's lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a "fire hazard" to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license because of her paralysis, Judy's actions set a precedent that improved rights for disabled people.
-
Disfigured
- On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space
- By: Amanda Leduc
- Narrated by: Amanda Barker
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fairy tales shape how we see the world, so what happens when you identify more with the Beast than Beauty? Amanda Leduc looks at fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Disney, showing us how they influence our expectations and behaviour and linking the quest for disability rights to new kinds of stories that celebrate difference.
-
Crippled
- Austerity and the Demonization of Disabled People
- By: Frances Ryan
- Narrated by: Georgie Morrell
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In austerity Britain, disabled people have become the favourite target. From social care to the benefits system, politicians and media alike have made the case that Britain's 12 million disabled people are a drain on the public purse. In Crippled, leading commentator Frances Ryan exposes the disturbing reality, telling the story of those most affected by this devastating regime. This includes a paralysed man forced to crawl down the stairs because the council wouldn't provide accessible housing and the young girl with bipolar forced to turn to sex work to survive.
-
-
Good Recording of an Interesting Book
- By Chloe Haskett on 03-03-20
-
Happy Fat: Taking Up Space in a World That Wants to Shrink You
- By: Sofie Hagen
- Narrated by: Sofie Hagen
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Happy Fat, comedian Sofie Hagen describes how she conquered a negative relationship with her body and provides practical tips for readers to do the same. She exposes how fatphobia is embedded in society at every level - in our relationships, our public spaces, and the TV shows we watch - powered by the toxic mix of capitalism and the media.
-
-
I wanted to love it
- By Melanie Preston Lewis on 08-07-19
-
Laughing at My Nightmare
- By: Shane Burcaw
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With acerbic wit and a hilarious voice, Shane Burcaw's Laughing at My Nightmare describes the challenges he faces as a 21-year-old with spinal muscular atrophy. From awkward handshakes to having a girlfriend and everything in between, Shane handles his situation with humor and a "you-only-live-once" perspective on life. While he does talk about everyday issues that are relatable to teens, he also offers an eye-opening perspective on what it is like to have a life threatening disease
-
-
Loved this book, can't wait for the next book!
- By Doobsters on 19-02-20
-
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century
- Unabridged Selections
- By: Alice Wong
- Narrated by: Alejandra Ospina, Alice Wong
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent - but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people.
-
-
Everyone should listen!
- By Anonymous User on 20-07-20
-
Being Heumann
- An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
- By: Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner
- Narrated by: Ali Stroker
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn't built for all of us and of one woman's activism - from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington - Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann's lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a "fire hazard" to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license because of her paralysis, Judy's actions set a precedent that improved rights for disabled people.
-
Disfigured
- On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space
- By: Amanda Leduc
- Narrated by: Amanda Barker
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fairy tales shape how we see the world, so what happens when you identify more with the Beast than Beauty? Amanda Leduc looks at fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Disney, showing us how they influence our expectations and behaviour and linking the quest for disability rights to new kinds of stories that celebrate difference.
-
Crippled
- Austerity and the Demonization of Disabled People
- By: Frances Ryan
- Narrated by: Georgie Morrell
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In austerity Britain, disabled people have become the favourite target. From social care to the benefits system, politicians and media alike have made the case that Britain's 12 million disabled people are a drain on the public purse. In Crippled, leading commentator Frances Ryan exposes the disturbing reality, telling the story of those most affected by this devastating regime. This includes a paralysed man forced to crawl down the stairs because the council wouldn't provide accessible housing and the young girl with bipolar forced to turn to sex work to survive.
-
-
Good Recording of an Interesting Book
- By Chloe Haskett on 03-03-20
-
Happy Fat: Taking Up Space in a World That Wants to Shrink You
- By: Sofie Hagen
- Narrated by: Sofie Hagen
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Happy Fat, comedian Sofie Hagen describes how she conquered a negative relationship with her body and provides practical tips for readers to do the same. She exposes how fatphobia is embedded in society at every level - in our relationships, our public spaces, and the TV shows we watch - powered by the toxic mix of capitalism and the media.
-
-
I wanted to love it
- By Melanie Preston Lewis on 08-07-19
-
Laughing at My Nightmare
- By: Shane Burcaw
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With acerbic wit and a hilarious voice, Shane Burcaw's Laughing at My Nightmare describes the challenges he faces as a 21-year-old with spinal muscular atrophy. From awkward handshakes to having a girlfriend and everything in between, Shane handles his situation with humor and a "you-only-live-once" perspective on life. While he does talk about everyday issues that are relatable to teens, he also offers an eye-opening perspective on what it is like to have a life threatening disease
-
-
Loved this book, can't wait for the next book!
- By Doobsters on 19-02-20
-
Care Work
- Dreaming Disability Justice
- By: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
- Narrated by: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this collection of essays, Lambda Literary Award-winning writer and longtime activist and performance artist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha explores the politics and realities of disability justice, a movement that centers the lives and leadership of sick and disabled queer, trans, Black, and brown people, with knowledge and gifts for all. Care Work is a mapping of access as radical love, a celebration of the work that sick and disabled queer/people of color are doing to find each other and to build power and community.
-
Haben
- The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law
- By: Haben Girma
- Narrated by: Haben Girma
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The incredible life story of Haben Girma, the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, and her amazing journey from isolation to the world stage. Haben defines disability as an opportunity for innovation. She learned non-visual techniques for everything from dancing salsa to handling an electric saw. She developed a text-to-braille communication system that created an exciting new way to connect with people.
-
-
Absolutely brilliant
- By Rachel H on 05-09-20
-
Knee Deep in Life
- Wife, Mother, Realist...and Why We’re Already Enough
- By: Laura Belbin
- Narrated by: Laura Belbin
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laura Belbin survived hitting her 30s (oh, to be wrinkle-free again), anxiety (just), motherhood (two adorable little shits) and the new body that went with it (a left tit that sags slightly more than the right, anyone?). In Knee Deep in Life she gives a fearless and filthy account of her transformation from no-responsibilities woman to being in demand 24/7, the heartaches and humiliations, and most importantly, her (definitely-pushed-to-the-limits-but-totally-indestructible) marriage to Steve.
-
-
Rollercoaster of emotion
- By alexandra jack on 23-08-20
-
No Time Like the Future
- An Optimist Considers Mortality
- By: Michael J Fox
- Narrated by: Michael J Fox
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The entire world knows Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, the teenage sidekick of Doc Brown in Back to the Future; as Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties; as Mike Flaherty in Spin City; and through numerous other movie roles and guest appearances on shows such as The Good Wife and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Diagnosed at age 29, Michael is equally engaged in Parkinson's advocacy work, raising global awareness of the disease and helping find a cure through The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the world's leading non-profit funder of PD science.
-
-
Excellent.
- By Mr Image on 18-11-20
-
Hood Feminism
- Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot
- By: Mikki Kendall
- Narrated by: Mikki Kendall
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All too often the focus of mainstream feminism is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. Meeting basic needs is a feminist issue. Food insecurity, the living wage and access to education are feminist issues. The fight against racism, ableism and transmisogyny are all feminist issues. White feminists often fail to see how race, class, sexual orientation and disability intersect with gender. How can feminists stand in solidarity as a movement when there is a distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others?
-
-
Very American.
- By Amazon Customer on 18-04-20
-
Written in Bone
- Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind
- By: Professor Sue Black
- Narrated by: Professor Sue Black
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our bones are the silent witnesses to the lives we lead. Our stories are marbled into their marrow. Drawing upon her years of research and a wealth of remarkable experience, the world-renowned forensic anthropologist Dame Sue Black takes us on a journey of revelation. From skull to feet, via the face, spine, chest, arms, hands, pelvis and legs, she shows that each part of us has a tale to tell. What we eat, where we go, everything we do leaves a trace, a message that waits patiently for months, years, sometimes centuries, until a forensic anthropologist is called upon to decipher it.
-
-
An interesting introduction to human anatomy
- By Rachel Mace on 23-09-20
-
Piranesi
- By: Susanna Clarke
- Narrated by: Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell transported countless listeners into its mysterious world. It became an instant classic and has been hailed as one of the finest works of fiction of the 21st century. Fifteen years later, it is finally time to enter the House and meet Piranesi. May your paths be safe and your floors unbroken, and may the house fill your eyes with Beauty.
-
-
Beautiful and Brilliant
- By Miko on 19-09-20
-
Mr Loverman
- By: Bernardine Evaristo
- Narrated by: James Goode
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barrington Jedidiah Walker is seventy-four and leads a double life. Born and bred in Antigua, he's lived in Hackney since the sixties. A flamboyant, wise-cracking local character, Barrington is a husband, father and grandfather - but he is also secretly lovers with his great childhood friend, Morris. When his marriage goes into meltdown, Barrington wants to divorce Carmel and live with Morris, but after a lifetime of fear and deception, will he manage to break away?
-
-
It will take you by surprise
- By Pj on 07-08-14
-
Unfollow
- By: Megan Phelps-Roper
- Narrated by: Megan Phelps-Roper
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church - the fire-and-brimstone religious sect at once aggressively homophobic and anti-Semitic, rejoiceful for AIDS and natural disasters, and notorious for its picketing the funerals of American soldiers. From her first public protest, aged five, to her instrumental role in spreading the church's invective via social media, her formative years brought their difficulties. But being reviled was not one of them.
-
-
Hope for the hurting
- By GapsOfTheGod on 26-10-19
-
Fighting for Your Life
- A Paramedic's Story
- By: Lysa Walder
- Narrated by: Emma Carter
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lysa has been a paramedic for over 20 years, working for the London Ambulance service - the world's biggest and busiest free service - for much of that time. Here, she reveals what it's really like to work in a job that brings paramedic teams face-to-face with death - and destiny - every day.
-
-
Real
- By Lucy on 01-05-20
-
This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health
- By: Nathan Filer
- Narrated by: Nathan Filer
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nathan Filer, mental health nurse and award-winning writer, takes us on a journey into the psychiatric wards he once worked on. He also invites us to spend time with world-leading experts and with some extraordinary people who share their own stories - true stories - about living with this strange and misunderstood condition.
-
-
This book will change your mind
- By Jo C on 16-01-20
-
The House in the Cerulean Sea
- By: TJ Klune
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world. Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.
-
-
A perfect narration for a perfect book
- By Lisa Hughes on 01-04-20
Summary
A memoir-in-essays from disability advocate and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty Rebekah Taussig, processing a lifetime of memories to paint a beautiful, nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most.
Growing up as a paralyzed girl during the '90s and early 2000s, Rebekah Taussig only saw disability depicted as something monstrous (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), inspirational (Helen Keller), or angelic (Forrest Gump). None of this felt right; and as she got older, she longed for more stories that allowed disability to be complex and ordinary, uncomfortable and fine, painful and fulfilling.
Writing about the rhythms and textures of what it means to live in a body that doesn’t fit, Rebekah reflects on everything from the complications of kindness and charity, living both independently and dependently, experiencing intimacy, and how the pervasiveness of ableism in our everyday media directly translates to everyday life.
Disability affects all of us, directly or indirectly, at one point or another. By exploring this truth in poignant and lyrical essays, Taussig illustrates the need for more stories and more voices to understand the diversity of humanity. Sitting Pretty challenges us as a society to be patient and vigilant, practical and imaginative, kind and relentless, as we set to work to write an entirely different story.
What listeners say about Sitting Pretty
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- susan
- 05-12-20
Unmissable
Honestly one of the best things I have ever read, thought provoking, funny, sad, clever, interesting & empowering.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Emilija Emma
- 26-09-20
A worldview-changing book that we all need to read
I wish I was a writer just so I could express how much I loved this book. I thought it would be a book about disability - but while it does contain stories from Rebekah's experience of living and making her place in the world as a disabled person, it breaks down the imaginary barrier between "disabled" and "non-disabled". It shows how accessibility favours all of us; how adapting to the needs of disabled people (which needs to be done by the way, and isn't done nearly enough - stop using accessible changing rooms and install more ramps please, for starters!) isn't just about rectifying a wrong that exists in the world, it can also take us to a place where we begin creating a world that embraces our diversity, and by supporting the needs of our changing, suffering, ageing bodies, allows all of us to make our contribution to society from our unique perspectives. Everybody needs to read this book - it will be in all of my family and friends' Christmas stockings this year. Go read this book, now.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Debo
- 06-09-20
Sad it’s over!
I’m a longtime follower of @sittingpretty on Instagram. Knowing I didn’t have time to read this book, I signed up to auditable to listen to it, and did so in three day! I loved getting insight into Rebekahs everyday life, how she navigates the world and highlighting how disability rights are human (If you ended this book early, you’re missing the point).
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Nish
- 01-09-20
AMPLIFY this type of constructive, imaginative, and uplifting voice!!
Taussig’s words obliterate the distance between a rich life of experiences that so many of us would never bother peeking into. “Disabled? Me? Never! Why do I need to add this perspective to my repertoire?!” As caustically impudent as that sounds, it’s simple truth. We think our bodies and capabilities as infallible except to age and why would us with able bodied fret about something as far away as old age?! Well, Taussig presents an emotionally accessible, humorous, and educational journey that removes any doubt as to why accessibility and disability belongs in society’s evolving dialogues of inclusion and representation. I am so glad my mind was stretched because her insights are embedded in my mind. Thank you, Rebekah!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ian
- 31-08-20
Eh...
Had a great promise, but I felt that the same story was repeated over and over again. She tried to make some points, but the points kept being made and I had to stop listening after a while.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Rita
- 14-09-20
Thought provoking
This book offers a new way to look at the needed change. Rebekah uses her personal experiences to provide readers with a new way to inspect their own actions. reactions and motivations.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Dawn M. Thomas
- 06-09-20
important read for any one with a body
I really enjoyed listening to this book. Must read for every person. Taussig gives the reader an inside look at the current state of accessibility and offers her insight in the most delightfully well written (and narrated) way. It is very important for all types of bodies to be able to see themselves represented in an uplifting way that celebrates their unique abilities and empowers them rather than treating them as less than others.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 29-08-20
Worth every second and penny--and a world more
Hearing this felt like having an eloquent writer turn my jumble of thoughts and feelings into words
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- R. Van der Lugt
- 28-08-20
So good! :)
This book is fabulous because Rebekah truly allows the reader to slip into her skin and see the world through her eyes. I hope it is read far and wide! If more people come to understand the disabled experience, then we can finally all work together to create a truly accessible and inclusive world!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall

- James Eccles
- 11-01-21
INCREDIBLE!
This is an incredible book. Taussig was thoughtful and purposeful in each chapter. She beautifully shares her story and sheds light on systemic problems. Appreciated her own narration. Absolutely recommend!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- jessie
- 01-12-20
Best non-fiction of the year
What a book to read during the pandemic. There is no better moment to examine our world and how we place bodies/ health and ability within it. The author is so generous as she leads you humorously, gently and enthusiastically into understanding disability.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Geri Flood
- 11-11-20
incredible writing
so enjoyable to listen to. I always love an audiobook narrated by the author. Rebekah does a fabulous job. I feel like a better person after reading this book and the lessons are applicable in many parts of life. Her writing is just wonderful.