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In this episode you’ll hear: about writing personal essays both online and in print, disability as a constructed cultural barrier, and a discussion of the book Sitting Pretty [a collection of personal essays].

Our guest is: Rebekah Taussig, the author of Sitting Pretty. She is a Kansas City writer and a teacher. She earned a PhD in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies from the University of Kansas. She is interested in the powerful connection between the cultural narratives we tell and the world we live in, from physical spaces and economic opportunities to social roles and interpersonal relationships. She writes personal essays that participate in the stories being told about disability.

Your host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women, gender, and sexuality. She specializes in decoding diaries written by rural women in the 19th century. She credits her ability to read nearly-illegible things to a childhood spent trying read her dad’s handwriting.

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