BCPL is proud to be a community partner with Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) for the NEA Big Read: Greater Cincinnati. NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest and is designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. 

The program will focus on Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body, a memoir-in-essays by Rebekah Taussig. Dr. Taussig is a woman who uses a wheelchair due to paralysis resulting from childhood cancer, but those are only a few facets of her life as a “writer, teacher, advocate, and human lady person”, and she tells stories of her experiences with humor, empathy, and humanity, making them relatable for just about anyone. 

ETC and several partner organizations will host programs centered on the themes of Sitting Pretty through June 2023. 

BCPL will host a Book Discussion on Tuesday January 24, 2023, 6:30 p.m. at the Main Library in Burlington.

Join others who have read Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body for a facilitated conversation about its themes and topics. Please register.

Need to borrow a copy of Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body? Check out BCPL.

For a complete list of NEA Big Read scheduled events, visit ensemblecincinnati.org. 

ABOUT REBEKAH TAUSSIG 

“I’m a Kansas City writer who lives in a very small, very old house with my fussy family of tenderhearted snugglers. I’ve spent most of my life immersed in the world of writing and reading – as a student, teacher, and human person – because I believe that words and stories matter. I am interested in the powerful connection between the cultural narratives we tell and the world we live in, from physical spaces and economic opportunities to social roles and interpersonal relationships. I earned a PhD in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies from the University of Kansas, and I write personal essays that participate in the stories being told about disability. I also run an Instagram account, @sitting_pretty, where I regularly craft ‘mini-memoirs’ that explore what it means to live in my particular (disabled, female) body.” Learn more about Rebekah Taussig at https://rebekahtaussig.com.