Defying Disability: The Lives and Legacies of Nine Disabled Leaders

This book tells the stories of nine disabled leaders who, by force of personality and concrete achievement, have made us think differently about disability. Whatever direction they have come from, they share a common will to change society so that disabled people get a fair deal. There are compelling biographies of - Sir Bert Massie: public servant; Lord (Jack) Ashley: Labour politician; Rachel Hurst: activist and campaigner; Tom Shakespeare: academic; Phil Friend: entrepreneur and business consultant; Peter White: broadcaster; Mat Fraser: actor, musician and performer; Andrew Lee: activist and campaigner; and, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson: Paralympic champion. "Defying Disability" is based on extensive interviews with the subjects and the people who know them. It marks their similarities and differences, the forces that drove them to achieve, the impact they have had on policies and practice, and how the modern history of disability in the UK has been played out in their lives. "Defying Disability" is not just a good read; it will inform professionals in the field, students in disability studies, disabled people, their families and carers, and everyone interested in disability politics and policies.

Mary Wilkinson was Editor of the campaigning newspaper, Disability Now, for over 20 years, until 2005. With a team increasingly composed of disabled people, she developed Disability Now into the UK's leading pan-disability newspaper.