Who Wants Normal? - by Frances Ryan (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

'We all need this book' Jameela Jamil

'A razor sharp manifesto by one of Britain's most vital voices' Yomi Adegoke

'Exceptional' British Vogue

A groundbreaking memoir about what it means to be a disabled woman in Britain today from the acclaimed journalist and author, including insights and personal stories from over 50 contributors

'No one really talks about it. No one really talks about what it is to be a disabled woman, especially a young one. To go a bit mad. To experience pain or exhaustion or feel 92. To navigate all the standard parts of life - exams, careers, dating - but with a body that is different than everyone else's.'

Part memoir, part manifesto, and full of Frances Ryan's trademark warmth, humour and honesty (as well as hard-hitting statistics), Who Wants Normal? explores six facets of life: education, careers, body image, health, relationships and representation, as well as how to survive life's bumps in the road.

It draws on Frances's own experience, as well as from highly personal interviews with over 50 of Britain's best known women and non-binary people with mental and physical health conditions, including Jameela Jamil, Ruth Madeley, Sophie Morgan, Rosie Jones, Fearne Cotton, Emma Barnett, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marsha de Cordova MP, Ellie Goldstein and Katie Piper.

Who Wants Normal? lifts the lid off a subject that is too often shrouded in stereotypes and silence. It offers support, inspiration and a sense of solidarity to the 1 in 4 women with long-term health conditions - and will open the eyes of anyone wanting to better understand what life is really like with a disability.

'Beautiful, vital and important. I loved it' Jack Thorne

'I've never related to a book more. Disabled or not, you MUST read this' Rosie Jones

'Supercharged relevance [full of] robust analysis and wry humour... readers will find here stories to inspire, enrage and encourage' Observer

Review Quotes

A razor sharp, super-smart manifesto by one of the most vital voices in British journalism today. This guide is a crucial call to action not just for disabled women, but for everyone who wants to have a better understanding of what it means to live with a disability--Yomi Adegoke

This book is beautiful, vital and important. I loved it--Jack Thorne

Frances has long been one of my writing heroes - this book is typically smart, funny, clarifying and enraging--Eva Wiseman

This superb book is a rallying cry for true equality for disabled people. Full of shocking stats, real life experiences and humour, it made me angry, laugh and gasp--Victoria Derbyshire

The must-read manifesto...this new book blends memoir and practical insight in an unmissable call to action...it covers education, careers, health, body image, relationships, representation and more--Stylist - 26 must-read books that will be massive this year

Illuminating and spirited - such a necessary book--Marina Hyde

One of the most interesting and important writers working in the UK today--Nish Kumar

Disability is an unnecessarily awkward subject for far too many people given the millions and millions of people within our society who engage with it daily, either due to their own health struggles, or those of someone they love. Frances has a talent for de-stigmatising the conversation and pushing past the uncomfortable to the necessary in an engaging and undeniable fashion. An inimitable voice in disability advocacy. We all need this book--Jameela Jamil

I've never related to a book more. Brilliant, honest and so powerful. Disabled or not, you MUST read this book--Rosie Jones

There are so many "Yes! That happened to me too!" moments in this book that reading it feels like having a gossipy evening in with the best of friends - the best disabled women friends--Liz Carr

About the Author

Frances Ryan is an award-winning journalist and author. For the last decade, she has been a columnist and reporter at the Guardian. Named Commentator of the Year 2024 by the Society of Editors, Ryan's work has made the front pages of the New York Times, the Guardian and British Vogue. It has helped change government policy, been discussed in the House of Commons, and featured anywhere from Channel 4 News, to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour to The World Tonight.

Her debut book, Crippled, (2019, Verso), was shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Award 2020, and made into the short drama Hen Night for the BBC in 2021. Twice highly commended at the National Press Awards, Ryan was named as one of Britain's '30 exceptional women journalists' by Women In Journalism in 2022. The same year, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Ryan lives in Nottingham and has a PhD in politics from the University of Nottingham.