Texas author Martie has released 'A-Z of Disability: Life and Challenges with Chronic Pain,' a book grounded in nearly five decades of lived experience with disability that began in her late twenties. Now 76, Martie draws from her journey through more than seventeen major surgeries including spinal fusion and multiple joint replacements to present disability not as a single event but as a cumulative reality shaped by chronic pain, medical intervention, and constant adaptation.
The book's alphabetical structure explores themes including access, compassion, grief, justice, isolation, kindness, pain, and resilience, blending personal narrative with broader social observation. This approach allows readers to engage with disability as a deeply human experience rather than merely a medical diagnosis. Martie makes clear that disability is shaped as much by societal barriers, attitudes, and assumptions as by the body itself, with these factors often determining whether a person is included or excluded in everyday life.
Released at the start of the new year, 'A-Z of Disability' asks different questions than typical resolutions: What does progress look like when pain does not resolve? What does hope mean when independence is limited? The book challenges readers to examine how everyday environments and behaviors contribute to marginalization, often without intention but with real consequences for people living with disabilities.
Martie writes with clarity and restraint about family life, caregiving, and the emotional cost of living in a body that requires constant negotiation with the world. She does not seek sympathy nor frame disability as inspirational, instead insisting on honesty about loss, frustration, adaptation, and the quiet strength required to continue. As the reflections progress, the focus shifts from personal experience to collective responsibility, asking readers to notice what is often ignored and reconsider how kindness is practiced in daily life.
The book is available in print and digital formats through major online retailers including Amazon. Martie reflects that kindness is born in the moment we choose presence over indifference, suggesting that meaningful change begins not with resolutions alone but with the willingness to truly see one another. 'A-Z of Disability' serves as a reminder that inclusion requires ongoing attention to the barriers that prevent full participation in society for people living with chronic pain and disability.
