YEAR OF THE TIGER

A mixed-media collection of prose and other work by Asian American disability activist Wong.

In the introduction, the author, who was born with a form of muscular dystrophy, claims that she never intended to be an activist. On the contrary, she writes, “Ableism conscripted me into activism.” Throughout the book, Wong supports this claim in a series of pieces that describe what it is like for her—and members of the disability community in general—to navigate an ableist world. In one essay, she combines traditional prose with screenshots of text-message chains to recount how she had to drop out of her dream college because changes to Medicaid made it impossible for her to retain the health aides she needed to survive on campus. In another essay peppered with screenshots and newspaper headlines, Wong describes the injustices she faced in trying to access a Covid-19 vaccine as a high-risk individual. The essays are not just limited to writing about disability, though: The author also includes a StoryCorps conversation she recorded with her mother about Lunar New Year traditions, a guide to conducting interviews for radio and other media, and an illustrated ode to cats. As a result, Wong’s collection provides a truly multidimensional portrait of a disabled writer effectively fighting the tendency of able-bodied people to treat the disability community as a monolith, an idea the author effectively deconstructs throughout the book. Not just beautifully written, the book is formally innovative, incorporating fiction (most notably, science fiction) and illustrated elements that are both profoundly insightful and consistently creative. Wong’s grasp of social justice issues is as impressive as her ability to explain complex ideas clearly, passionately, and often humorously. “A memoir can only provide a glimpse of a person,” she writes, “and I am presenting one that is framed by me for nefarious purposes that you will discover one day if you dare.”

A stunningly innovative, compulsively readable hybrid of memoir, cultural criticism, and social activism.