juvenile nonfiction / health & daily living / physical impairments

All during her childhood, Emily felt different from other kids. Between therapist visits, sudden uncontrollable bursts of anger, and unexplained episodes of dizziness and loss of coordination, things were always worse for her. For years, her only escape was through the stories she'd craft about herself and the world around her. But it wasn't until a near-fatal accident at twelve years of age that Emily and her family discover the truth: a grapefruit sized benign brain tumor at the base of her skull. In turns candid, angry, and beautiful, Emily Wing Smith's memoir chronicles her struggles with both mental and physical disabilities during her childhood and the means by which she coped with it all---writing.

"The story of Helen Keller, who learned to read and write despite being deaf and blind, and became an activist who fought for the rights of disabled people"--Provided by publisher.