I got a Facebook Message the other day from one of my long-time reader/reviewers. In it, she talked about some of the people in her life with various disabilities and encouraged me to write a story (or two) with main characters who are differently abled.
I let her know that I would think on how to do this, because while I absolutely agree with her points that those who are differently abled are just as valuable and deserving of love, I also know first hand that writers who venture into areas like this often get more than they bargain for.
I’ll admit it, I’m a little scared.
I have some reasons that I consider valid. Like the week (more than that? I will admit I have worked hard to put it out of my mind) of daily Facebook messages I received lambasting me for having dared to write a Black heroine in A Dash of Daring. I was told I was racist for having even considered writing this character, even though–in my best attempts to make sure I was not erring–I based her (with permission and input) on a friend (who, to be clear, is Black.)
Or the hate-filled messages I’ve received about Malachi, my Deaf hero in Muffins & Moonbeams (also based on a friend, because I wanted to do the character and situation justice).
It’s all left me a little gun shy.
Actually, not a little. A lot.
There’s a big part of me that knows no matter how much I research. No matter how many interviews I do or books I read or groups I solicit, there’s a huge possibility that I’ll get a detail wrong. And it just might be the detail that triggers a reader. And while I certainly would never misrepresent something on purpose, in our world today, intent doesn’t usually matter once people start sharpening their pitchforks.
And dancing with farm implements is exhausting.
It’s been fascinating to sort of observe my thought process as I’ve been mulling how I might include a hero or heroine with disabilities, because I’ve never really shied away from tougher topics in my books (and honestly, I’m sitting here wondering if that’s even the right word to use – is differently abled preferred across the board? Are both acceptable? You can Google for days and get ten thousand different answers.)
But for some reason, writing about the terrible after effects of abortion and healing available through Christ (Wisdom to Know), or teen pregnancy and alcoholism (Courage to Change), or missionary dating and childhood abuse (Serenity to Accept), or loving gay friends (the Peacock Hill series), or the temptation to premarital sex that single adults face head on in Christian romance (real life and fiction — the Taste of Romance series, which also hits up clinical depression, struggles with parental expectations, and touches on infidelity) all seems different than working to write more diverse characters.
Probably because it is.
I can see how people might consider those harder topics matters of opinion with no right or wrong answer to them. Whereas writing about living as a person of color or living with a difference of ability as a matter of fact that only those who have walked in the shoes has a right to detail. Which is why, when I did tiptoe into that sort of character, I worked with people who I knew in real life who were willing to share their experience and help me shape the characters into someone that they, at least, felt was a real and fair representation of one particular lived experience. And why, after the pitchforks, I mostly decided that I wouldn’t do it again.
Until now. When I have this Facebook message asking why I don’t.
So, for now, I thought I’d do a little reading, if I can find CCR that features differently abled characters. And this is where you come in. I know about All the Moore by Toni Shiloh (I’ve read it, and it’s fantastic). And the books that we featured in our service animal episode of StoryChats (since usually those folks who need a service animal have a special need.) Then it’s not CCR, but Promise of a Future by Stephanie McCall was a fantastic story about a young woman with cerebral palsy. I know Connie Almony has an amputee hero in her Beauty and the Beast retelling At the Edge of a Dark Forest and she also has a book where the heroine has a non-verbal autistic son, but I’m not sure which one it is (it’s been years since I read it and the title isn’t jumping out at me on her page. But honestly, I loved Connie’s writing so you can’t really go wrong.) I feel like Autumn Macarthur has one where the heroine’s son is in a wheelchair. And Hallee Bridgman has one where a heroine has an autistic son, I think?
But what others do you know of? I’d prefer titles where it’s the main character who has the different ability rather than a side character. (I’ll read just about any Christian contemporary genre. Please don’t offer me historicals – one, because the way disabilities were handled in the past aren’t as relevant and two, because I really don’t like historical. Sorry. It’s true.)
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
I can’t imagine not liking Historical reads, but that’s just me.
Characters who are challenged in some way make for interesting reading and I do think it’s important to highlight different lifestyles.
My son has a profound hearing loss, so characters that sign, are every day for him. Yes, I can sign. We can ‘shout’ across a noisy room with ease.
So sorry to hear you’ve been lambasted over your writing. I think their comments tell us more about the nature of the verbally abusive persons, than of your writing. My mantra is, if you can’t say something positive or encouraging about a (story), don’t say anything at all!! Most of us value you CCR authors, and wish you only success.
It’s sad that you are attacked for the books you write. They are novels after all, but I do know that the hurts some people have suffered because they or a loved one is different can be very deep rooted( maybe why the pitchfork is used).
Valerie M Bodden has two books in her ‘Not until’ series. ‘Not until Christmas morning’ is about an amputee and ‘Not until now’ has the heroine in a wheelchair.
Being able to be “heard” anywhere is something my friend always embraced as a positive of being Deaf, provided he was with someone who signed.
I do like split time books – which have some chapters that are historical, if that helps any? :)
Thank you! ❤️ I think the one woman really felt she was teaching me and thought she was coming from a place of love. I don’t assign bad motives to either of them.
I thought I had read all of Valerie’s but I don’t remember Not Until Now so I’m adding that (back?) To my list. Thank you!
Hi Elizabeth! Valerie Comer’s Ruby Radiance (Pot of Gold Geocaching Romance Series) has a vision impaired potter as the main character. Sad that in today’s world, people aren’t more inclusive about folks who different – folks with disabilities, inter racial marriages, sexual preferences and more. This reader & retired teacher has been enriched by interacting with blind / hearing impaired, mix racial marriage, different ethnic / social economic backgrounds. Elizabeth, you are not the only one receiving pitchforks in the back. I am an avid Hallmark movie watcher. The new Hallmark movies are more inclusive. No longer are all the movies with white characters / actors. Now stories about about folks with disabilities, mixed race marriages, other ethnic groups, and includes gay couples. The comments on Hallmarks Facebook page are appalling. As Christians, God created all humans; therefore we need to embrace them all. Each person is unique, therefore differences in how characters are portrayed. Best wishes. Happy Writing. Thanks for your research and willingness to handle the tough issues of life.
How did I forget Valerie’s Ruby Radiance?! Thanks for mentioning it. It’s worth a reread for sure.
welcome today. and thanks for opening yourself up like this. no matter what we do and no matter how hard we try, we are not going to please everyone. why I made a baby quilt for one of my great nephews. it was all cute animals in squares and bright colors. well long and short dad loved it. his wife did not. baby love all the colors and animals. I am sorry you got the negative. but it sounds like you also got positive. I have learned that instead of being gun shy so to speak, to pray about it and ask Jesus’s help. I am never steered wrong here. I have not read contemporary very long, so really don’t know of too many books yet with the hero or heroine with a disability.
You’re absolutely right that continuing to ask Jesus to be the source of my stories and characters is the only real course of action. I definitely strive to bathe my books in prayer with the hope that the result is the book God wants.
Sarah Monzon’s All of You has a double amputee, though it’s a time slip. Denise Hunter’s Just a Kiss is also one. I know I’ve read a few with blind characters and Deaf characters though my brain is rebelling and not reminding me of the titles.
I think you’ve always handled characters that don’t look like you with grace and it would be a shame for you to let negative comments keep you from going in a direction readers desire you to go. Just my two cents.
I have read Sarah’s! I like timeslip books. :) And speaking of Sarah, her romcom Amanda should have hit my brain while I was writing the post as it’s one of a small # to address “invisible” disabilities and I loved it.
Also thanks ❤️
Karen Kingsbury has a book with a character with autism in Unlocked. Danni Roan has a character in a wheelchair in April’s Angel, and she’s the heroine. I know I’ve read a few others, but the names and authors aren’t coming to me now.
Where Love Grows by Heidi Chiavaroli
Oh great recs! Thanks!
Thank you!
I’m so sorry you have had such horrible experiences. I will look forward to more books with characters who are differently able. I can’t remember the name of the book, nor the author but, there is a wonderful series that features a young woman, (Tori?) with dwarfism. She is the heroine in one book and side character in the rest of the series. It is a Christian romance series. Good luck.
Oh wow – dwarfism would interesting to read about! I’ll poke around and see if I can find it.
Your books sound like great reads. I think books that have disabilities in the story are actually very good because they can be a big help for both people who have the disabilities and also for the people that don’t have them because they can learn how to people are dealing with it how we can help people and at the same time and to be compassionate.
Such a challenge. I wrote Reunion at the Shore with fear and trembling because the hero had recently lost his vision. I had two sensitivity readers with visual impairments and both caught errors which I fixed, but I’m sure there were some I missed. It seems like it’s getting harder and harder to write characters different from yourself without offending some readers. You could make it work though. You did so amazingly well with Malachi!
They’re definitely so important! Fiction is such a great place to learn about things we don’t have first hand experience with.
Oh! How did I forget about Reunion. I loved that! You did such a great job with that one — sensitivity readers are a great idea for these situations.
You’re very gracious! At least you’re coming from a place of love! 😊
can’t think of any
I can understand your hesitation. Everyone views things differently. I remember reading Joni Erikson Tada’s story when she became paralized after a diving accident. There are so many autobiographies and biographies out there about people who have become disabled.
As I live with a disability myself, it is hard to put into words some of the challenges that are faced everyday. I like said earlier, everyone has a different experience. It is so easy to become caught up in making everyone happy. People also have to remember that your book is fiction. Not everyting in the book is true.
Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
It is that fine line between fact and fiction, I guess, that can trip people up (even me – I’ve read books before and been annoyed that they didn’t have the level of reality I expected – I know better lol)
I’m disabled (btw, “disabled” is not dirty word), and I definitely wish I saw more disabled characters in the books I read, especially as MCs. I think disabled sensitivity readers are a valuable resource, as well as research. Maybe even consider co-writing with a disabled author (trust me, there are tons of us, https://disabledwriters.com/). Also, it’s critical to learn what “inspiration porn” is and how to avoid it. Use your work to magnify actual disabled experiences rather than the abled perception of them.
Books like “Disability Visibility” edited by Alice Wong, “My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church” by Dr. Amy Kennny, and “Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice” by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-SamarasinhaI are worthy places to start. To access the best info, read as many articles and posts by actual disabled people, rather than their loved ones and acquaintances. Hashtags like #disabilitytwitter and #disabilityrights are great to get an idea of the challenges and prejudices faced by disabled people, but again, focus on firsthand disabled accounts, not secondhand observations. The motto for the Disability Rights Movement is “nothing about us without us” for a reason. No one understands our experiences better than we do.
Disabled people make up about 25% of the U.S. population, and it’s the only marginalized group that anyone can join at any time. That we are almost invisible in fiction is rather a stark injustice, an extension of a world that thinks us and our lives are somehow “less than” abled lives. The fact is most of us feel less disabled by our various conditions, and rather more so by a society that refuses to make itself truly accessible to us.
All authors must write characters somehow different than them. If you do the work to understand a marginalized group, it can be a blessing to you as well, as we work together to create a more just world.
very late (having major jaw/tooth who know what it is pain). I am sorry for the comments you received unfortunately I have heard this happens especially for American authors. It not quite as bad in Australia. It really narrows books. There are so many interracial relationship. I also find it double standards when its ok for minorities to write white characters without issue. (I am not trying to be racist saying this) I do know in Australia we have to be careful with cultural references and I know of authors who have gotten permission from the cultural leaders and had the book check for accuracy. I wonder does the same happen if you have say a European hero and an American heroine.
On disability it is hard but we need books which feature the different disabilities. While many they have a physical disability many are as capable as able bodied people. I guess the issue is portraying them authentically but I would think if you were able to have help from someone with the same issues and they could do a forward which could help reduce nasty comments. I think its really sad authors who really want to portray authentic people face harrassment for doing the right thing. (I sure hope this makes sense lack of sleep, pain meds can make my thoughts jumbled)
The book Terry is referencing above is When There is Love (The McKinleys book 3) by Kimberly Rae Jordan.