Rising Flame and HarperCollins India have published a first-ever anthology of disabled women retelling fairy tales called ‘And they lived … Ever after’. This anthology has been written by 13 disabled women from across India and Sri Lanka. The writers are women with disabilities like deafness, blindness, autism, locomotor, dyslexia, ADHD, psychosocial etc. These writers range from lawyers, professors, entrepreneurs, special educators, marketing professionals and so on. These authors came together to see themselves in popular stories like Ugly Duckling, Rapunzel, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Snow White & Rumplestiltskin.
Order your copy from Amazon here and from bookstores near you.
Book blurb:
Meet a deaf Snow White, a wheelchair-using Rapunzel, a neurodivergent Ugly Duckling.
In a world where fairy tales usually demonise characters who live with disability, these and other fairy-tale characters challenge our understanding of the people around us. The authors of this collection seek to retell classic stories by weaving in their own everyday experiences-the struggles, joys and frustrations that may not be known to the non-disabled.
And They Lived … Ever After grew out of a programme organised by Rising Flame, an award-winning non-profit that seeks to build an inclusive world in which diverse bodies, minds and voices thrive with dignity and live free of discrimination, abuse and violence. This book is every bit as enchanting as it is important.
Praise for And They Lived…Ever After:
‘A unique anthology that seeks to change the fairy tale into a safe space of inclusion and acceptance of difference.’ – Jerry Pinto
Book lists:
Hindustan Times: https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/ht-picks-new-reads-101711720105996.html
Deccan Herald: https://www.deccanherald.com/features/books/bookrack-for-the-week-march-24-to-march-30-2948232
Excerpts:
For children: In these retellings of classic fairy tales, the protagonists are disabled women
Coverage:
Nidhi Ashok Goyal speaks to Midday Diarist
Nidhi Ashok Goyal speaks with Anuradha Varma for Swishing Mindsets
Nidhi Ashok Goyal speaks with Aditi Rao at Kunzum Books
Refreshing Retellings of Traditional Tales
Reviews:
“There is nothing contrived about this anthology: it doesn’t strive to be uplifting, it doesn’t place cause over quality, and it isn’t beleaguered by self-importance despite being what it is—a groundbreaking work at the intersection of disability, feminism and literature, with equal potential to engage directly with the disabled reader or listener, while also enlightening the abled one.” in the Open
“The very act of not making happiness a parameter for the relevance of a story on disability, reaffirms the real lives of people with disabilities, which, like the lives of most people, are not coloured by perpetual happiness, frozen in time, that we see in fairy tales. Instead, our lives are interspersed with happiness and sadness, and several other emotions and states of mind. The title of the anthology is a nod to the lived realities of women with disabilities, which cannot be masked with flowery euphemism but are supposed to be raw and relatable.” in Feminism in India
These stories — some inspired by the writers’ own lived experiences — demonstrate that there is no one way of being a human being. Its resilient characters inspire “fresh ways of seeing the world”. in The Hindu
“Loneliness is a prominent theme in the stories, which Goyal says resonates among readers with and without disabilities. “Non-disabled readers said they could see themselves in the stories – the hurt of being left out by a group and feeling unwanted,” says Goyal, 38, who was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disorder as a teenager.” in The Guardian