8 #ownvoices fantasy recommendations for disability pride month (and year round)

Hello again, dear friends! How’s everything going? It’s June and that means it’s Disability Pride Month! As a chronically ill, disabled, and neurodivergent person myself I’m happy to be celebrating this month!! The disabled community is so diverse and welcoming to many kinds of different people, and I’m proud to be among them.

One thing that has always been rather upsetting for me, however, is the bookish community’s seeming refusal to remember that disability is a valid marginalization time and time again. It is still very rare to see books by disabled authors starring disabled characters and I still see numerous non disabled authors utilizing ableist tropes in their works. Nothing saddens me more, because us disabled folk have worked hard (and continue to work hard) to be seen and seen for who we are in all our beauty.

So, today I’d like to celebrate some of the rare fantasy books by disabled authors that star disabled main characters! The following books star dynamic, complex, interesting characters—all of whom happen to have some sort of disability, and all of whom were written by an author with a disability (usually the same one as the character). Let’s dive right in!

fourth wing by rebecca yarros

♿ Representation: Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)

Fourth Wing is MAJORLY popular at the moment, but did you know it also has #ownvoices representation for the disabling chronic illness known as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a.k.a. EDS)? Yarros has talked about how she modeled the main character Violet’s disabling chronic illness after her own, EDS. One of the things I love about Fourth Wing is how it portrays some of the prejudice and discrimination those of us with disabilities and chronic illnesses face, without making it so that Violet is barred from being the hero of the story. In fact, Yarros goes so far as to write in Violet getting the dragon rider version of an accommodatioin, without falling into using the dreaded “magic cures a disability” trope! It was so wonderful and validating to see this and the chronic illness representation is what has made Fourth Wing a great read for me!

one for all by lillie lainoff

♿ Representation: Postural Orthostatic Thachycardia Syndrome (POTS)

This book means the world to me because, like Lainoff and Tania (the main character of One for All), I have POTS! One for All is noted for being the first fiction book published that explicitly has POTS representation on the page—so it was a big deal for me! I understood so much of Tania’s experience intimately—from her physical symptoms (hello, fellow perpetually dizzy POTSies!) to the discrimination and prejudice she faced from others (including her family) to her struggle with the resultant depression and internalized ableism. There where times where this book seemed to understand my life so well that it almost moved me to tears. I loved seeing Tania’s journey to find an accepting and accommodating community, all while getting to be the hero of her own fantastical story!

this vicious grace by emily thiede

♿ Representation: ADHD

This book is another one whose main character and author I hardcore related to because I also have severe ADHD! ADHD is known to present differently in men and women, largely because of how women tend to be socialized, yet despite this fact most of the representation of ADHD in entertainment media is based off of men’s presentation of symptoms. So, naturally, I was ecstatic to hear that Thiede’s main character in This Vicious Grace—Alessa—was written to have ADHD. I related so much to Alessa and how her ADHD affected her in ways that are difficult to even put into words. Her desire to make friends, her fear of rejection, her chattiness despite her fear that others hate her…everything was on point. Reading about Alessa was so validating and made me feel less alone in my struggles.

unseelie by ivelisse housman

♿ Representation: Autism

This is a book I’ve yet to read yet, but it’s high up on my TBR! Housman and one of her main characters are autistic and what makes this book so interesting is that Housman based the concept in part on the old myth that autistic and other kinds of disabled children were actually fairy changelings. Pretty cool, right?! I love fairy stories, as well as the myth of changelings, so seeing this kind of take on the lore looks amazing to me!!

the storm crow by kalyn josephson

♿ Representation: Depression

As far as I know, this YA fantasy was one of the first to explicitly name and depict depression of a main character on page. Despite that fact, it seems like this book has mostly gone under the radar? I will admit, I read half of this book and “soft DNF’ed” it (i.e. set it down for another time) in part because at the time I was starting to struggle with depression and seeing it depicted on page so honestly was rough for me. That being said, what I read of it was interesting in its story and genuine in its representation of grief and depression. Apparently The Storm Crow was the first part of a duology which is completed now, so I’m hoping to pick it up again and finish the series eventually.

six of crows by leigh bardugo

♿ Representation: Ligament Disorder

This is another popular read that a lot of people forget is written by a disabled woman and stars a disabled main character. Everytime people complain about this series being popular and diverse despite those people believing Bardugo isn’t marginalized, it drives me nuts! No, she’s not queer or a POC but she’s marginalized by virtue of being disabled, FFS!! But I digress…Anyhoo, one thing I love about this series is that Kaz Brekker’s accommodation (his cane) is also his strength in that it doubles as a weapon—so cool! This is another series where disability doesn’t get in the way of a character being a hero and I love it so much!!!

the whispering dark by kelly andrew

♿ Representation: Deaf

Fantasies with a dark academia aesthetic have been having a moment, yet this is another book that has been seriously unnoticed (despite being featured in a few book boxes). I’m not sure why, though, because this dark academia fantasy featuring a deaf main character and written by a deaf author seems soooooo interesting. Hence why it’s one of the books at the top of my TBR! Also, for some reason this book gives me Raven Cycle vibes in terms of its atmosphere? Overall The Whispering Dark just seems ridiculously intriguing and I can’t wait to get to it!!

cresent city by sarah j. maas

♿ Representation: PTSD; Depression

A major theme of this popular series (as well as Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series) is how the main character copes with and semi-recovers from grief, depression, and PTSD. In live streams, Maas has discussed how this is very much intentional and mirrors her own life’s ups and downs with mental health. One of the things I’ve loved while reading House of Earth and Blood is that Maas deals with these themes up front and doesn’t let them fall into the background as the story progresses. I also love how Maas shows that people living with mental health disorders can have dynamic and vivid personalities and lives, rather than just becoming a gloomy stereotype. Bryce (the main character) can be bubbly and cheerful and enjoy partying without it invalidating her mental health disorders.

So that’s all for today, friends! I hope maybe you found one or two recommendations to add to your TBR! Happy Disability Pride, y’all!

spill the beans, pals!

• Who’s your favorite disabled fantasy author?
• Do you have any fantasy recommendations featuring #ownvoices disability representation?

Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven

Lila is a 30 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.