We take you to two harsh environments, where people with disabilities only exist through the joys of peer support and
imaginative thought.
First, we go to Black Rock City in Nevada where, during the week of Labor Day, the annual Burning Man Festival took place. We talk to three people with disabilities, the force behind the Black Rock
City Department of Mobility, a volunteer camp for people with disabilities who provide free and barter disability services for others who are attending the festival. What’s it like to push a
wheelchair around the Playa? How can you refrigerate your insulin? Dani Moore, Wayne Merchant and Kevin Lee provide some answers as they share their Burning Man excitement.
Then, a discussion of revolution, community, limitation and success with local author Mariana Ruybalid, the author of “Coyote Healer, Coyote Curandero.” The book narrates the adventures of
Martin, a young boy of mixed heritage living with cerebral palsy. Placed in the near future, Ruybalid’s novel describes a time when white evangelicals rule the U.S. and her protagonist, Martin,
faces death as a minority and a person with a disability. Part coming-of-age story, part revolutionary vision, Martin’s adventures will bring him to a clearer sense of his flaws as well as
his abilities. It’s a book grounded in Ruybalid’s long life as a woman with disability and a minority identity.
Adrienne Lauby produces and hosts.
Black Rock City Department of Mobility
http://brcmobility.com/
Coyote Healer, Coyote Curandero by Mariana Ruybalid
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12387940-coyote-healer-coyote-curandero