Golem Girl - A Memoir - 'A hymn to life, love, family, and spirit' DAVID MITCHELL (Hardcover)

'A hymn to life, love, family, and spirit' DAVID MITCHELL, author of Cloud Atlas The vividly told, gloriously illustrated memoir of an artist born with disabilities who searches for freedom and connection in a society afraid of strange bodies. ***WINNER OF THE BARBELLION PRIZE*** ***SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD*** In 1958, amongst the children born with spina bifida is Riva Lehrer. At the time, most such children are not expected to survive. Her parents and doctors are determined to 'fix' her, sending the message over and over again that she is broken. That she will never have a job, a romantic relationship, or an independent life. Enduring countless medical interventions, Riva tries her best to be a good girl and a good patient in the quest to be cured. Everything changes when, as an adult, Riva is invited to join a group of artists, writers, and performers who are building Disability Culture. Their work is daring, edgy, funny, and dark-it rejects tropes that define disabled people as pathetic, frightening, or worthless. They insist that disability is an opportunity for creativity and resistance. Emboldened, Riva asks if she can paint their portraits-inventing an intimate and collaborative process that will transform the way she sees herself, others, and the world. Each portrait story begins to transform the myths she's been told her whole life about her body, her sexuality, and other measures of normal. Written with the vivid, cinematic prose of a visual artist, and the love and playfulness that defines all of Riva's work, Golem Girl is an extraordinary story of tenacity and creativity. With the author's magnificent portraits featured throughout, this memoir invites us to stretch ourselves toward a world where bodies flow between all possible forms of what it is to be human. 'Riva Lehrer is a great artist and a great storyteller. This is a brilliant book, full of strangeness, beauty, and wonder' AUDREY NIFFENEGGER 'This astonishing, heart soaring and often shocking memoir of a Jewish woman with spina Bifida born in the 50's is bright and dark, terrifying and wonderful. An ode to art and the beauty of disability' CERRIE BURNELL

General

Imprint:	Virago Press Ltd
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	December 2020
Authors:	Riva Lehrer
Dimensions:	238 x 162 x 44mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	448
ISBN-13:	978-0-349-01481-4
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Film, television, music, theatre Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Science, technology & engineering Books > Arts & Architecture > Art forms, treatments & subjects > Painting & paintings > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Gay & Lesbian studies > General Books > Health, Home & Family > Family & health > Coping with personal problems > Coping with disability Books > Biography > Film, television, music, theatre Books > Biography > Science, technology & engineering
LSN:	0-349-01481-7
Barcode:	9780349014814

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!