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Who Wants Normal?

The Disabled Girls’ Guide to Life

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A groundbreaking memoir about what it means to be a disabled woman in Britain today from the acclaimed journalist and author, including insights and personal stories from over 50 contributors

'No one really talks about it. No one really talks about what it is to be a disabled woman, especially a young one. To go a bit mad. To experience pain or exhaustion or feel 92. To navigate all the standard parts of life - exams, careers, dating - but with a body that is different than everyone else’s.'

Part memoir, part manifesto, and full of Frances Ryan’s trademark warmth, humour and honesty (as well as hard-hitting statistics), Who Wants Normal? explores six facets of life: education, careers, body image, health, relationships and representation, as well as how to survive life's bumps in the road.

It draws on Frances’s own experience, as well as from highly personal interviews with over 50 of Britain's best known women and non-binary people with mental and physical health conditions, including Jameela Jamil, Ruth Madeley, Sophie Morgan, Rosie Jones, Fearne Cotton, Emma Barnett, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marsha de Cordova MP, Ellie Goldstein and Katie Piper.

Who Wants Normal? lifts the lid off a subject that is too often shrouded in stereotypes and silence. It offers support, inspiration and a sense of solidarity to the 1 in 4 women with long-term health conditions – and will open the eyes of anyone wanting to better understand what life is really like with a disability.

'We all need this book' Jameela Jamil

‘A razor sharp manifesto by one of Britain's most vital voices’ Yomi Adegoke

'Exceptional' British Vogue

'Beautiful, vital and important. I loved it' Jack Thorne

'I've never related to a book more. Disabled or not, you MUST read this' Rosie Jones

'Supercharged relevance [full of] robust analysis and wry humour… readers will find here stories to inspire, enrage and encourage' Observer

© Frances Ryan 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Gender Studies People with Disabilities Personal Development Personal Success Social Sciences Women Health Mental Health

Critic reviews

A razor sharp, super-smart manifesto by one of the most vital voices in British journalism today. This guide is a crucial call to action not just for disabled women, but for everyone who wants to have a better understanding of what it means to live with a disability
This book is beautiful, vital and important. I loved it
Exceptional ... A must read
Frances has long been one of my writing heroes - this book is typically smart, funny, clarifying and enraging
This superb book is a rallying cry for true equality for disabled people. Full of shocking stats, real life experiences and humour, it made me angry, laugh and gasp
Supercharged relevance [full of] robust analysis and wry humour… readers will find here stories to inspire, enrage and encourage
The must-read manifesto…this new book blends memoir and practical insight in an unmissable call to action…it covers education, careers, health, body image, relationships, representation and more
Illuminating and spirited - such a necessary book
One of the most interesting and important writers working in the UK today
Disability is an unnecessarily awkward subject for far too many people given the millions and millions of people within our society who engage with it daily, either due to their own health struggles, or those of someone they love. Frances has a talent for de-stigmatising the conversation and pushing past the uncomfortable to the necessary in an engaging and undeniable fashion. An inimitable voice in disability advocacy. We all need this book
All stars
Most relevant
I don’t use the word inspiration lightly, but to have a series of disabled women and non-binary people, come together and trail blaze, changing history forever, is truly powerful. Frances is so articulate and the narrative of the book is so beautiful, it’s a relatable read for not just disabled people, but for anyone who feels like they don’t belong or that exist in spaces that aren’t made for them. I’d highly recommend reading this book, especially with Ruth as the narrator? Chefs kiss

Empowering.

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This book is a must for disabled women. inspirational, funny and direct women talk all things disability and share their personal stories. thank you for this book, it felt like a comfort blanket in a world not designed for us. We matter, we should be seen and we deserve to be at the table.

This book is a must for disabled women .

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An excellent book that covers a wide breadth of topics. Written with informed and nuanced experience and one can feel the empathy and wish to help others come through the page. Recommended!

Astute & Wise

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As we see disabled people in the UK at their most vulnerable thanks to our wonderful supposedly Labour government, this book feels like a little light at the tunnel from some of the most important loudest disabled voices we have.

Thank you Frances for compiling and creating this book and bringing together these incredible women to give me a reminder that actually other people are also going through what I am going through. An incredible read and if you need a primer in how it feels to be disabled in the UK this might be a good place to start.

A book very much needed!

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