“It’s okay to have a disability, but please act normal”. Sometimes I get this feeling from people. It is not that they are being mean. I think mostly it’s because they are having issues accepting oneself and that seeing another disabled person who acts “not normal” only confronts them about their own differences.

Personally, I felt I’ve been ignored or shun by other disabled people. Whenever I reach out, I get a recoil look. I have also known disabled people that are pleasant...

One word that I can describe about the book, Far from the Tree, is challenge: the challenge for people with differences to love themselves, the challenge for families to accept their loved ones as they are, and the challenge for society to embrace people of unique personalities and physical differences.

As a person with many differences, I can relate to the many people featured in the book and understand what is like to live in a society that is very challenging and confusing.

I apprecia...