I Don’t Do Disability and Other Lies I’ve Told Myself

A raw and intimate portrait of family, love, life, relationships, and disability parenting through the eyes of a mother to a daughter with Down syndrome.

With the arrival of her daughter with Down syndrome, Adelle Purdham began unpacking a lifetime of her own ableism.

In a society where people with disabilities remain largely invisible, what does it mean to parent such a child? And simultaneously, what does it mean as a mother, a writer, and a woman to truly be seen?

The candid essays in I Don’t Do Disability and Other Lies I’ve Told Myself glimmer with humanity and passion, and explore ideas of motherhood, disability, and worth. Purdham delves into grief, rage, injustice, privilege, female friendship, marriage, and desire in a voice that is loudly empathetic, unapologetic, and true. While examining the dichotomies inside of herself, she leads us to consider the flaws in society by taking our hands and showing us the beauty, resilience, chaos, and wild within us all.

Adelle Purdham is a writer, instructor, and parent disability advocate. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from the University of King’s College and is a writing instructor at Trent University. Adelle lives with her family in her hometown of Peterborough/Nogojiwanong, Ontario.