NORFOLK, Neb. – The author of a book that features stories on disability and the struggles she faces in her life said she wrote it to provide a better understanding of what people in similar situations encounter every day. Rebekah Taussig’s book, Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body, was the focus of a program through Northeast Community College over the past several months that included numerous shared reading experiences, discussions, and events.
At one of the final events of the program, Taussig said she felt special that area residents spent time discussing her book to learn her story and become better aware of disability.
“I feel like I was like hearing all of the ways that you have engaged this book and the themes of this book as a community. The things you have been doing are so cool. And I know that many people have put energy into that,” Taussig said. “I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Northeast Community College was one of 62 organizations nationwide selected to receive a 2022-2023 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read grant.
Events in the NEA Big Read in Northeast Nebraska program, that ran from Feb. 23-May 2, focused on disability, disability services, accessibility, and inclusion and promoted open dialogue leading to a deeper understanding of how best to respect and support one another. Partners from across the region came together to provide activities and events for people of all ages and abilities.
The first seeds of Taussig’s book were planted eight years ago on social media. She began by communicating travel experiences she shared with her partner and the areas they had in common.
“But quickly I started moving into a lot more vulnerable storytelling in that space, and I started writing about things like struggling to walk with my walker in front of him, my new boyfriend, and the never-ending frustration of trying to find an affordable, accessible place to live in Kansas City,” she said. “And I remember really being floored that other people cared to read about that.”
Taussig wasn’t initially aware of what the stories were doing to her self-awareness. However, she came to understand that although the stories featured in the book are very personal because they’re about her, they’re much more than simply identifying who she is.
“I think that there is something just deeply human about the experience of disability and writing about that experience,” she said. “And I’ve been surprised by all the ways that people connect to these stories or find value in these stories. And I think that there’s a hunger for complicated nuanced stories of disability and living in a human body.”
Taussig is a Kansas City writer and teacher with a doctorate in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies. She has led workshops and presentations at the University of Michigan, University of Kansas, and Davidson College on disability representation, identity, and community. She also runs the Instagram platform @sitting_pretty where she crafts “mini-memoirs” to contribute nuance to the collective narratives being told about disability in our culture.
“We appreciate Taussig’s honest and intimate rendering of her experiences, which inspired caring, and connection,” said Jennifer Ippensen, director of library services at Northeast and NEA Big Read in Northeast Nebraska project director, during the concluding program of the Big Read. “Over the last couple of months, this book has invited people to discuss disability, ableism accessibility and inclusion, serving as a springboard promoting open dialogue and lending itself to a deeper understanding of how best to respect and support one another.”
Taussig was grateful for the work that went into putting on the NEA Big Read in Northeast Nebraska program. She treasured her time coming to Norfolk and Northeast.
“I feel that right now and even just my whole trip here is something I want to freeze and put into a snow globe that I could show my younger self (and say), ‘Look at this cool town in Nebraska and the stories that they’re reading and the conversations that they’re having.’”
In addition to Taussig’s public reading, she held a professional development session for area educational professionals in Northeast’s Union 73 and over Zoom earlier in the day.
The NEA Big Read in Northeast Nebraska was presented in partnership with the League of Human Dignity, Norfolk Public Library, Elkhorn Valley Museum, Norfolk Arts Center and other local and state organizations with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Local sponsors include Healthy Blue, Norfolk Area Visitors Bureau and Norfolk Area Community Foundation Fund.
Northeast Audio Recording Technology and Media Arts - Digital Cinema and Media students created a video documentary that chronicles the activities and participants of the NEA Big Read in Northeast Nebraska program. It may be viewed HERE.
For more information on the program, visit northeast.edu/events/neabigread.
--###--
PHOTO CUTLINE
Rebekah Taussig, author of a book that features stories on disability and the struggles she faces every day, speaks during a presentation at Northeast Community College recently. Northeast was one of 62 organizations nationwide selected to receive a 2022-2023 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read grant that focused on Taussig’s book, Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body.