Voices: Interviews With Handicapped People

In writing "Voices," the authors were primarily listeners. What issues, they wanted to know, concern disabled Americans? How do they feel about their lives? What people, what institutions, have been most important to them? Is there a unifying or common experience of being disabled in America today? What accomplishments have been made? What problems remain to be faced? The authors set out to meet and talk with a representative cross section of disabled children and adults, and they learned much from the people they met. Most of the interviewees were very open and willing to talk. The experiences of disabled people enrich and touch others deeply, perhaps (as several interviewees observed) because even the most normal person is only temporarily able-bodied. At any given time, anyone may be just a footstep away from becoming a permanently disabled person or from becoming the parent of a handicapped child. The authors encourage the reader to come to know a disabled individual as a person, not just as a "case of disability." In that case, "Voices" will have achieved its highest purpose.