Who Wants Normal?

£11.99

This is a groundbreaking memoir about what it means to be a disabled woman in Britain today from the acclaimed journalist and author, including insights and personal stories from over 50 contributors. ‘No one really talks about it. No one really talks about what it is to be a disabled woman, especially a young one. To go a bit mad. To experience pain or exhaustion or feel 92. To navigate all the standard parts of life – exams, careers, dating – but with a body that is different than everyone else’s.’ Part memoir, part manifesto, and full of Frances Ryan’s trademark warmth, humour and honesty (as well as hard-hitting statistics), ‘Who Wants Normal?’ explores six facets of life: education, careers, body image, health, relationships and representation, as well as how to survive life’s bumps in the road.

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SKU: 9780241629451 Category: Tags: , , Publisher/imprint : Penguin Books
Page count : 320
Published on 16th April, 2026

Description

‘We all need this book’ Jameela Jamil

‘A razor sharp manifesto by one of Britain’s most vital voices’ Yomi Adegoke

‘Exceptional’ British Vogue

NOW WITH A NEW FOREWORD

A groundbreaking memoir about what it means to be a disabled woman in Britain today from the acclaimed journalist and author, including insights and personal stories from over 50 contributors

‘No one really talks about it. No one really talks about what it is to be a disabled woman, especially a young one ? To navigate all the standard parts of life – exams, careers, dating – but with a body that is different from everyone else’s.’

Almost one in four women in the UK have some sort of disability, yet this subject is too often shrouded in silence and stereotypes. Who Wants Normal? by the award-winning journalist and author Frances Ryan is a game-changing take on disability and feminism.

Part memoir, part manifesto, it explores six facets of life: education, careers, health, body image, relationships and representation, as well as how to survive life’s bumps in the road. It draws on Frances’s own experience as well as her interviews with over fifty of Britain’s best-known women and non-binary people with mental and physical health conditions, including Jameela Jamil, Sophie Morgan, Ruth Madeley, Nikki Fox, Rosie Jones, Fearne Cotton, Emma Barnett, Ellie Goldstein and Katie Piper.

Who Wants Normal? lifts the lid on and redefines what it means to be a disabled woman in Britain today. It offers support, inspiration and a sense of solidarity to the many women with disabilities and long-term health conditions – as well as opening the eyes of anyone wanting to better understand life with a disability.

‘Beautiful, vital and important. I loved it’ Jack Thorne, writer of Adolescence

‘I’ve never related to a book more. Disabled or not, you MUST read this’ Rosie Jones

‘Supercharged relevance [full of] robust analysis and wry humour? readers will find here stories to inspire, enrage and encourage’ Observer

Additional information

Weight 0.5 kg
Dimensions 19.8 × 12.9 × 3.5 cm
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