Breath & Shadow
Winter 2018 - Vol. 15, Issue 1
New on The Bookshelf
written by
Breath & Shadow
"Follow Your Dog: A Story of Love and Trust"
Nonfiction by Ann Chiappetta
Follow the author as she moves from an unhappy early life and her unstoppable loss of vision to happiness and fulfillment as a guide dog user, wife, and mother who works as a V.A. counselor. This touching, informative, and beautifully written book will surely resonate with many besides guide dog raisers, trainers, and handlers. Includes stories and photos of her most beloved dogs, past and present.
From the text:
While there is practical merit to the human–canine bond, which developed over a period of 70,000 years, it’s not akin to any other human-animal relationship. It is unique. The person and guide dog are interdependent, and the bond of mutual trust is what makes the partnership successful and fulfilling for both. With this book, I hope to take the reader on a journey of understanding: learning what it’s like to overcome the darker side of disability by walking the path of independence with a canine partner.
For cover photo, longer synopsis, free text preview, author bio, and buying links, see: http://www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta
"The Right Way to Be Crippled and Naked: The Fiction of Disability: An Anthology"
Welcome to the worlds of the disabled. The physically disabled. The mentally disabled. The emotionally disabled. What does that word "disabled" mean anyway? Is there a right way to be crippled? Editors Sheila Black and Michael Northen (co-editors of the highly praised anthology Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability) join newcomer Annabelle Hayse to present short stories by Dagoberto Gilb, Anne Finger, Stephen Kuusisto, Thom Jones, Lisa Gill, Floyd Skloot, and others. These authors—all who experience the "disability" they write about—crack open the cage of our culture's stereotypes. We look inside, and, through these people we thought broken, we uncover new ways of seeing and knowing.
Cinco Puntos Press, 2017, 352 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1941026359
"Wrestling the Dragon: How I Fought Diabetes and Won"
A diabetes diagnosis will be life-altering. But it doesn't have to be life-shattering. This is my story. The story of how I learned to conquer the beast that lives inside of me despite the struggles and obstacles, the needles and finger-sticks, the desperation and disappointment. A story of how I (and my parents) managed my type I diabetes since I was diagnosed at the age of 17 months; how my father and mother first encountered the dragon--how it nearly killed me. It's a story of hope and encouragement: a tale of normalcy when "normal" might seem like a foreign word to a newly diagnosed diabetic or parents watching their child struggle to fit in while carrying the burden of the beast. And most of all, it's a story of persistence. The story of a simple boy who grew into a determined young man and never stopped chasing his dreams despite the dragon roaring inside him.
The Pangolin Review
A new bi-monthly poetry magazine is seeking submissions. For more information visit:
Part of our mission at Breath and Shadow is to promote the work of writers with disabilities. In this section, we highlight a few titles written by people who have contributed work to our journal.