Rolling Warrior

The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution

By: Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner

Narrated by: Ali Stroker

Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

As featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary Crip Camp, and for fans of I Am Malala, one of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her story of fighting to belong.

“If I didn’t fight, who would?”

Judy Heumann was only five years old when she was first denied her right to attend school. Paralyzed from polio and raised by her Holocaust-surviving parents in New York City, Judy had a drive for equality that was instilled early in life.

In this young listeners’ edition of her acclaimed memoir, Being Heumann, Judy shares her journey of battling for equal access in an unequal world - from fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” because of her wheelchair, to suing the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her disability. Judy went on to lead 150 disabled people in the longest sit-in protest in US history at the San Francisco Federal Building. Cut off from the outside world, the group slept on office floors, faced down bomb threats, and risked their lives to win the world’s attention and the first civil rights legislation for disabled people.

Judy’s bravery, persistence, and signature rebellious streak will speak to every person fighting to belong and fighting for social justice.

©2021 Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Inspiring and wryly humorous . . . Readers will be outraged to read about the treatment disabled individuals have faced and still face and cheer as Heumann persists against incredible odds. Necessary reading.”
—Booklist, Starred Review

“Heumann’s frank accounts of humiliation and dismissal are infuriating, but her conversational narration and snarky chapter titles (‘Sorry, If You Could Just Hide Behind Everyone Else That Would Be Great’) keep the tone encouraging, and her accounts of disabled people’s camaraderie are heartening. A reflective epilogue explores global disability rights, representation, and the importance of telling—and listening to—#ownvoices stories. Insightful and empowering.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A powerful yet tender memoir from one of the most important figures in disability rights history. Judy’s story made me laugh, cringe, and perhaps most importantly, it lit a fire in me to fight harder for disability rights.” —Shane Burcaw, author of Laughing at My Nightmare

An Icon Ahead of Her Time

This is a fantastic book about a fantastic person that history has seemed all to quick to try and bury. The fact this woman is not once mentioned in a school curriculum history book is a disservice to her legacy and her and all the others that fought for the rights we (people with disabilities) now have today. This woman is a great teacher, and someone who was ahead of her time with how she saw and treated others, my only hope is that others see her attitude and wherewithal and can model their own lives after her teachings, if so the world could be a better place.

Great book, but...

Great story, unless you've already read Being Heumann... it's almost identical. Otherwise, it's an important message and compelling story. I would have rated it 5 stars if I hadn't just read Being Heumann a few months earlier. The narration is great in both!