Amy Lee Lillard
At the age of forty-three, after discovering she was autistic, Amy Lee Lillard learned she was part of a community of unseen women who fell through the gaps due to medical bias and social stereotypes. And she learned that her brash and trashy family of women, purveyors of dirty jokes, dirty pictures, and dirty shame, may have broken under the weight of invisible disability.
A Grotesque Animal explores the making, unmaking, and making again of a woman with invisible and unknown disability. Essays examine how a working-class background and a deep-rooted Midwest culture of silence led to hiding in plain sight for decades. And Lillard uncovers what it means to be a disabled slut, a queer aging woman, a descendent of wild but tamed mothers, and a survivor of the things patriarchy does.
Coming in 2024 from University of Iowa Press!