Message From the Editor
Welcome to RESILIENCE, the new digital lifestyle publication that is intended to inspire, motivate, entertain, inform, and share stories about people with disabilities and those involved in our lives.
Over my decades of working on several publications for people with disabilities, I have realized that we often also have great abilities. And when we need to, we also acquire new abilities to help us survive and thrive in a world that wasn’t built for us.
Time and time again, I have witnessed those who have something considered a disability do or learn to do something that is beyond normal ability. A person who has no arms, for example, who can paint beautiful artworks with their mouth, who can fix cars, or who can drive a car or even pilot a plane. A person who uses a wheelchair but travels throughout multiple states without assistance. A person without arms and legs who can climb mountains. And, yes, although every person with a disability doesn’t have to climb a mountain to prove ourselves, it’s pretty cool when we do.
Then there’s a good friend of mine and ally of this publication, Dr. Donna Walton. Although she lost a leg to cancer when she was just 18 years old, she has gone on to achieve many of her dreams in the midst of struggle. In our introductory issue and in the future, you’ll learn more about this amazing woman and the organization she founded, Divas With Disabilities. Stay tuned to be encouraged to adapt. In fact, she didn’t simply adapt, she went on to fully reinvent herself. That’s another level of adaptation, and you may decide to go that route yourself. It’s up to you.
The list could go on and on of people who have difficulties in one area of our lives but go on to excel in another area. We can fill years of magazines with such stories and still not tell them all. But we’re gonna try!
This magazine will tell you about many such people, with hopes of letting you and the world know that we are not only disabled but abled. It will also help inform you about things that can help make our success in life more possible and help us go beyond what we ever imagined.
How does a person with a disability support himself or herself? Social Security may not be enough for some. How does a person with a disability get around on a college campus? It’s not always easy—going up and down steps outside or navigating a wheelchair for long distances on a snowy day. Does the world make it easier or more difficult? If more difficult, what can we do to change that? Are laws helping or hurting? There are so many issues that constantly have to be faced and dealt with.
One person with a disability can help others with a disability learn how to deal with such issues. Those who’ve been around know the ropes and have insider knowledge. This ain’t their first rodeo.
In this magazine, people with disabilities will help each other. Adapting is the minimum goal, and they are the guides. And, if you want to go beyond that minimum, some of them can also help you reinvent yourself so that you can fly higher than you imagine.
I hope you enjoy and benefit from RESILIENCE. Please tell others about us and help us grow. BECAUSE INFORMATION CHANGES LIVES.
Click on the covers below to read the issues.
