By Aliza Gans, Arts and Culture Editor
While I usually consume fantasy and realistic fiction novels, I recently read a non-fiction book that I cannot recommend enough. Being Heumann, the memoir of disability rights activist Judy Heumann, details Heumann’s fight for equality throughout her life and it moved me deeply.
As a toddler, Heumann contracted polio and as a result was left paralyzed. What followed was her constant fight for education. Wheelchair-bound, she had to fight to be in the classroom as a child. Then for her teaching license in order to fulfill her dream of being an educator. Those responsible for granting teaching licenses would label her as unfit to teach due to her mobility challenges and chalk it up to being a fire hazard or that itself a reason she was unfit for the classroom. Through her activism, Heumann created a thriving network of disabled people and was not afraid to call out those who refused to see her as more than her disability. Her work paved the way for federal legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which advanced the rights of millions of disabled people across the country.
Heumann’s memoir also highlights the role her parents played in her activism. As young Holocaust survivors, they were advised to place Judy in an institution but they refused, recalling the many disabled people in Nazi Germany sent to institutions who were subjected to abuse and then killed. Heumann writes how, as a child, her mother fought for her to be in any space a child her age would usually be — especially her Jewish elementary school — and didn’t take no for an answer.
The memoir’s style makes it feel as if you are having a conversation with Heumann herself. It is an intimate experience where readers are brought into deeply emotional moments in her life. She writes candidly about how the constant exclusion made her feel and how it inspired her to speak up on behalf of the disabled community.
A line that particularly stood out was one early on in her description of her childhood: “There was never a question of whether or not I would play too — we all figured out a way for me to do whatever everyone was doing … But it taught me, at a very early age, that most things are possible when you assume problems can be solved.” With any activity, whether it be jumping rope or roller skating, the neighborhood children always found a way to include her, highlighting the unique way children think outside the box. But in other spaces, people viewed her as the problem and did not make the space she wanted to enter or the activity she wanted to participate in accessible to her and others with disabilities. We can all learn from those neighborhood children’s ingenuity. Heumann also points out that the disabled community is one that anyone can become a part of at any time. It is not limited by age, gender or where one lives, thus all spaces should be able to accommodate everyone.
Reading Heumann’s story, readers realize how inaccessible so many aspects of American life really were for a huge part of the population, and how many advances we have made since. Still, there is more work to be done to make many basic tasks accessible to all Americans. Plenty of establishments say they are accessible, for example, only for people to show up and find a couple of steps at the entrance. And that’s only taking into account visible disabilities.
Being Heumann is a fascinating and inspiring read that will leave you thinking about how we can make the world a better place for everyone. In 2026, we continue to benefit from Heumann’s hard work. If you’ve ever had a classroom accommodation like extra time, notes or distraction-free testing, that is a federal right covered under the ADA.
This memoir will make us more aware and grateful like Judy Huemann, who paved the way so those who need it can have the resources needed to be a successful student, and whose efforts continue to impact millions of lives.
Photo Credit: Aliza Gans