The Disability Book Archive

[ID: A book cover. The background is art of a group of people at night. The sky is dark blue and cloudy. The floor is cracked and dry. A figure, with short black hair, dressed in a leather jacket, black pants and brown boots, is standing in the foreground. Three silhouettes- an adult using forearm crutches and an adult holding a child’s hand- are coming towards them. In the background, the silhouette of a city scape. A light is coming from one of the buildings, spotlighting the three silhouettes.
The title “Defying Doomsday” is in the upper left hand corner of the cover. “Defying” is in large yellow caps, “Doomsday” is in large white caps.
Text at the bottom of the cover reads “Edited by Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench” in smaller capitals. The names of the editors are in yellow. The rest is in white. /end]

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Content Warning:

• Eugenics
• Ableism
• Death
• Medical Content
• Suicidal Thoughts
• Death of a Parent
• Gun Violence
• Violence
• Blood
• War
• Panic Attacks

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Summary:

Teens form an all-girl band in the face of an impending comet.

A woman faces giant spiders to collect silk and protect her family.

New friends take their radio show on the road in search of plague survivors.

A man seeks love in a fading world.

How would you survive the apocalypse?

Defying Doomsday is an anthology of apocalypse fiction featuring disabled and chronically ill protagonists, proving it’s not always the “fittest” who survive — it’s the most tenacious, stubborn, enduring and innovative characters who have the best chance of adapting when everything is lost.

In stories of fear, hope and survival, this anthology gives new perspectives on the end of the world, from authors Corinne Duyvis, Janet Edwards, Seanan McGuire, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Stephanie Gunn, Elinor Caiman Sands, Rivqa Rafael, Bogi Takács, John Chu, Maree Kimberley, Octavia Cade, Lauren E Mitchell, Thoraiya Dyer, Samantha Rich, and K Evangelista.

Table of Contents

And the Rest of Us Wait by Corinne Duyvis
To Take Into the Air My Quiet Breath by Stephanie Gunn
Something in the Rain by Seanan McGuire
Did We Break the End of the World? by Tansy Rayner Roberts
In the Sky with Diamonds by Elinor Caiman Sands
Two Somebodies Go Hunting by Rivqa Rafael
Given Sufficient Desperation by Bogi Takács
Selected Afterimages of the Fading by John Chu
Five Thousand Squares by Maree Kimberley
Portobello Blind by Octavia Cade
Tea Party by Lauren E Mitchell
Giant by Thoraiya Dyer
Spider-Silk, Strong as Steel by Samantha Rich
No Shit by K Evangelista
I Will Remember You by Janet Edwards

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Notes:

The disability representation present in this book:

• Spina Bifida
• Wheelchair User
• Arthritis
• Chronic Pain
• Amputee
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Limb Difference and Missing Limb
• Scarring
• Autism
• Schizophrenia
• Blind
• Hard of Hearing
• Hearing Aid User
• Dyspraxia
• CFS | Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Cerebral Palsy
• Body/Muscle Dysmorphia
• Reverse Anorexia
• Pituitary Gigantism
• Crohn’s Disease
• Improperly Healed Fracture
• Selective Mutism
• DID | Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Asthma
• Trichotillomania
• Edentulism
• Eczema
• Diabetes
• Organ Transplant
• Trauma Injury
• Limited Mobility
• Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
• MS | Multiple Sclerosis
• Orchitis
• Infertility
• Osteoporosis
• Renal Failure
• Symbrachydactyly

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Archivist Comments:

There is a blog on Tumblr (linked here) that lists a disabled character a day, and they covered the entirety of Defying Doomsday. So the disability list in the notes is compiled from disabilities I saw mentioned in the reviews, and the posts on this blog. It’s fantastic.

This one took so long. I’ve really been looking forward to adding but bloody hell.

Almost everything I’ve heard about this book has been good. Most people who bring it up in my inbox seem to be praising it. I have seen some reviews saying that some of the stories don’t really make sense, one or two comments saying that the ordering of the stories is a bit off, and there’s been a few comments about the lack of disabled queer rep. There is a bit in here, but people would have liked to have seen more.

Others are praising the overall concept of the book, the diversity and knowledge of the disabilities, the overall creativity of the stories, and the inclusion of “lesser known” conditions.

I do believe there is a sequel to this book. It is called Rebuilding Tomorrow, also edited by Dolichva, and it is about life after the apocalypse, from the perspective of disabled and chronically ill characters. It came out in 2020.

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