Fall 2023 One Book Project - "Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body" by Rebekah Taussig
Rebekah Taussig, PhD, is a Kansas City Writer and teacher with her doctorate in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies. She runs the Instagram platform @sitting_pretty, where she crafts "mini-memoirs" about her daily life. She lives in a tiny, old house with her fussy family of tender-hearted snugglers. (book cover)
Check out her Instagram here and consider following her!
Read this short excerpt from Rebekah's book about how she decided on the phrase "sitting pretty":
"Almost five years ago, I started an Instagram account where I could share mini-memoirs narrating life in a body that's rarely represented, let alone represented with nuance. I'd been writing essays, sending them out whenever I could bear the vulnerability of it, and hoping some editor would happen to care about this perspective, when my roommate Bertie told me to take them to the Interwebs. Would anyone care? Maybe not. But I didn't have anything to lose. I brainstormed cheesy handles on an actual napkin that came with my cup of coffee. I played with words like "wheelchair" and "cripple" and "disabled" until I landed on the feminine, the playful, the subtly subversive @sitting_pretty - a name to highlight that I am moving around down here and doing just fine" (Taussig x).
Pre-book club activity:
Consider different aspects of your identity (race, class, gender, nationality, ability/disability, etc.) How much do you see yourself as a certain identity label and how much do you see yourself as just an ordinary person separated from that identity label? If you were to create a social media page like Rebekah's Instagram, what would your username be and how would discuss your experiences in society and personal life? What is the importance of utilizing social media platforms these days to share such stories?
Hello everybody. My name is Carol Maas and I will be part of the book club this year. I am from Guatemala and I fell very excited for this new experience and opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI think that my blog would be called "Powerful_woman" because as a woman, we live different problems and insecurities when we walk in the steet, or just to be a woman is dangerous. We fell insecures and scares to walk alone or in a dark place. But we have courage, and we always continue together and support each other. That's the wonderfull of be a "POWERFUL_WOMAN"
Hello, My name is Ericka, I'm from Guatemala and I'm very exited because this year I will be part of this book club! The Instagram account looks really fascinate, I liked so much the colors and the joy that transmits. If I create an account its name would be: LIVING TO THE FULLEST. Since it is very important to show people that no matter their circumstances they can find happiness everywhere.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone my name is Alejandra Gonzalez and I'm from Guatemala. I will be part of the book club this year and I'm so excited and grateful for this experience.
ReplyDeleteIf I create a page would be called "be_yourself" because I think that people compare yourself with other people and sometimes it could affect the feelings of someone. In this page I could share texts about how wonderful is to be yourself, self-love and other possitive things
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ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Sebastian Rax. I am from Guatemala and I will be part of the book club this year. I am very excited and grateful for this opportunity and new experience.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to create a page it would be called ''Inspiring_minds'' because I think that some people are having bad moments that make them think that everything goes wrong for them, reaching a point of feeling mentally and physically bad. So in this page, I would publish motivational phrases for all those people who are having a bad time, to help them to think positive and teach them to enjoy life.
Hello, I'm Dayanna. I'm from Guatemala and I'm so excited and thankful to be part of the book club this year and live this experience!
ReplyDeleteIf I created an account I would call it "growing_toghether" because people sometimes think that are alone, they don't know where can find help or another perspective on how they can afront a bad situation where they are, but people want to change and improve their self. So, I would post how I live bad situations for me and how I try to improve, I would share suggestions and maybe people can identify with my experiences and can take a step to achieve their best.
Hello, I'm Karolina and I'm from Poland and I'm very excited to join the bookclub!
ReplyDeleteAs a woman, I would like ot focus my Instagram account on issues that women experience as it is incredibly important for me to empower women in daily life too. I would focus on issues such as gender pay gap, violence against women, women's rights and how to tackle misogyny in everyday life as well as raise awareness about problems that women experience all around the world. I would choose the username that somehow encompassess all of these ideas - @empow_her.
Social media is incredibly important in sharing stories of struggle as it does not require pre-approval. It also gives a platform on which you can post whenever you like and through which you can reach very wide audience.
Hello, I’m Eveline Padilla. I take pride in being able to consider myself Mexican. I don’t really consider it a “label” because using the word “label” makes it sound dehumanizing. I’m just a person. If I were to create a page like Taussig, I would probably use the name “trust.life”. I would discuss my experiences through art and through poetry, talking about how I went through those experiences. How it started, how it felt in the moment, and what I learned from it. I think using social media is a good way to track history and learn from others.
ReplyDeleteHi! My name is Sarah Skenfield, and I am from Bakersfield, CA. I am very excited to be part of this book club! I see myself as a lot of things, good and bad- funny, smart, messy at times, kind, caring. I realize, though, others don’t see me this way (at least at first). To strangers, I am a white girl, brownish blonde hair, short. I see myself not really as an identity label, but I realize other people who don’t know me as well definitely do. If I were to make a social media page today, I think it would be names something silly and light hearted for sure. I love making people laugh, and I think a name that reflects that would be perfect. I think I would share simple things like how my day went, but also deeper things like some of the struggles I have had to go through, too. I completely agree with Rebekah’s reason as to why she has made a social media page to share her story. On social media, we find new people that we have never seen before every day. Some posts are silly, some are more serious. Either way, they all affect us in differ ways. I think Rebekah’s story is especially important for us to hear because we not only can learn about someone else’s life, but also learn about a lot of the struggles that many people don’t go through in a day to day basis.
ReplyDelete