Rachel Simon, best known for her memoir, Riding the Bus with My Sister, recently published this new novel which showcases the value of community living for people with disabilities. The Story of Beautiful Girl tells the tale of two individuals, a woman with an intellectual disability and a deaf man, who escape from an institution in Pennsylvania in 1968 with the woman’s newborn daughter. The story plays out over several decades, and includes many familiar issues: the abuse and dehumanizing conditions in the institution, the advent of deinstitutionalization, and the value of dedicated Direct Support Professionals, who work to enhance the lives of people with disabilities. This account of triumph against the odds weaves in issues such as the right to community living, romance and sexuality, self-expression, spirituality and independence.
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