Owning It: Our Disabled Childhoods in Our Own Words

By James Catchpole and Jen Campbell

'Honest, hopeful, hilarious and heartwarming.' - Cerrie Burnell

From birthday parties, to navigating the sports field, to being given random free stuff, to juggling hospital visits alongside social lives . . .

These twenty-two true stories capture the highs and lows, the tears and laughter, the friendships and fallouts of growing up with a disability.

Whether you're disabled yourself, or know someone who is, or want to better understand the experience, this book is a window into the young lives of these disabled writers: their stories, in their own words.

Edited by James Catchpole, Lucy Catchpole and Jen Campbell.

With contributions from Ali Abbas, Polly Atkin, Imani Barbarin, Jen Campbell, James Catchpole, Christa Couture, Carly Findlay, M. Leona Godin, Eugene Grant, Jan Grue, Matilda Feyisayo Ibini, Ilya Kaminsky, Sora J. Kasuga, Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, Elle McNicoll, Daniel Sluman, Nina Tame, Rebekah Taussig, Steven Verdile, Alex Wegman, Ashley Harris Whaley and Kendra Winchester. Illustrated by Sophie Kamlish.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0571380026
• ISBN13: 9780571380022
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Faber & Faber Children's
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.2" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Who are your heroes?

Maybe you and/or your child(ren) are what passes for 'normal'. But what if that was not the case? Or what if life changed and now there is a prosthesis, or chemo, or a hidden diagnosis that brings vast changes? What if there were no superheroes that you could relate to? What if there was no one in your social sphere at school who understood? You are not alone, and the stories from kids who grew up 'different' reflect that because each of these 22 authors have 'been there, done that' and wish that someone had given them the kind of encouragement this book brings.