Recent statements by both Dr. Oz and RFK, Jr. should be viewed with alarm

Posted on by Jen

“It is your patriotic duty, I’ll say it again, the patriotic duty of all Americans to take care of themselves because it is important for serving in the military, but it is also important because healthy people don’t consume health care resources,” Dr Oz during his swearing in a ceremony at the White House in April 2025

“Autism destroys families, and more importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children,” […] “They’ll never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.” RFK Jr. an HHS press conference in Washington, D.C. on April 16th.

These are dangerous words, and it doesn’t matter if it seems like they are talking about specific groups of people who are disabled or unhealthy. When you start down that path you end up with anyone who doesn’t fit a narrow definition of “normal” being excluded from society. We cannot allow this rhetoric to be believed and accepted. All lives are worthy no matter what they can or cannot do. The ability to work and / or pay taxes should not be a determining factor of who is worth keeping.

Their rhetoric around disability and illness has strong elements of eugenics. Both highlight the idea that people who are disabled and/or unhealthy, and are unable to work are harmful to society. Their attitude seems to be that people who are ill and/or disabled cost too much money and if we weren’t around spending money everything would be fine. They also seem to be big on the idea of “personal responsibility” in a way that implies that any illness or disability is the fault of the person who has it rather than something that happens. They are suggesting that if we ate better food and exercises we would never get sick or ill and our children would never be disabled. All of this is untrue and harmful to those of us with disabilities and/or chronic illness.

Additional Reading

“Disability, Eugenics, and the Value of Human Life” by Talia Lavin at The Sward and the Sandwich

“RFK Wants to Send People to ‘Wellness Farms.’ The US Already Tried That” by Kathryn Waring at Teen Voque

“All Autistic People Have Value, Something RFK Jr. and Profound Autism Parents Refuse to Understand” by Shannon Des Roches Rosa at Thinking Persons Guide to Autism

“We’re Not Broken” Review

Posted on by Jen

“We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation” by Eric Garcia

Garcia began writing about autism because he was frustrated by the media’s coverage of it; the myths that the disorder is caused by vaccines, the narrow portrayals of autistic people as white men working in Silicon Valley. His own life as an autistic person didn’t look anything like that. He is Latino, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, and works as a journalist covering politics in Washington D.C. Garcia realized he needed to put into writing what so many autistic people have been saying for years; autism is a part of their identity, they don’t need to be fixed.

In We’re Not Broken, Garcia uses his own life as a springboard to discuss the social and policy gaps that exist in supporting those on the spectrum. From education to healthcare, he explores how autistic people wrestle with systems that were not built with them in mind. At the same time, he shares the experiences of all types of autistic people, from those with higher support needs, to autistic people of color, to those in the LGBTQ community. In doing so, Garcia gives his community a platform to articulate their own needs, rather than having others speak for them, which has been the standard for far too long.

Review

I originally read this back in 2022 sometime after it came out in 2021 and wanted to re-read it now both to do a review for it and also because of the current political rhetoric around autism. I really like the way Eric Garcia took the time to explain why and how he wanted to write this book. There was a good variety of people represented in this book from across the spectrum of support needs as well as gender and race.

Garcia also makes a point of saying how people can have different needs but often assumptions are made about who needs what supports to be successful. He emphasizes that Autistic individuals who succeed don’t “overcome” their autism but rather succeed because they are given the proper supports throughout their lives. There was a lot of discussion about being willing to seek out support along with the fear that needing support means one is not capable of being out in the world which can hinder actually getting support.

The book is divided into several categories including those for work, education, housing, gender, and race and in each one Garcia both tells his own experiences and also shares the experiences of others. Again, each section does a good job of showing a range of experiences. I particularly appreciated the first chapter which outlined a lot of the history of autism and how it has been viewed over the years. It’s a bit weird reading this book now during the second Trump presidency when it was written during the first and some policy decisions were made at that time.

I also appreciated the gender and race sections of the book, which illustrated why there is seemingly such an increase in diagnosis over the years. Girls, non-binary, and trans individuals are often overlooked as many traits are assumed to be more about gender (like being shy) than anything else. Also, with regard to race, there was a point in time when it was assumed only white boys were autistic (mostly due to the way studies were conducted), while Black and Brown children were given different diagnoses, such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

Overall, I think Garcia does a great job highlighting the various issues that autistic people face and the ways that assumptions have been made across the spectrum with regard to ability and how best to support autistic people. There is some good discussion about the conflicts that can exist between parent advocates and self-advocates. Nearly always, parents want to do best by their children, but sometimes the idea of finding a cure can cause more harm than good. Often, the push for a cure comes at the expense of actually providing care and support to the children and adults that currently exist. And this is true for a lot of different disabilities where better supports would be appreciated more than finding a cure.

Book Details

The book cover is a sold white background with the title written one word per line down the center. The letters of the title are colored in different colored sections: orange, pink, purple, green, blu and red. The subtitle is under the main title in solid black and then the authors name is at the bottom with the same color patterns.

Author’s Website
Eric Garcia
Publisher / Date
Harvest Publications, August 2021
Genre
Essay Collection
Page Count
304
Completion Date
April 21, 2025

“Warped State” Review

Posted on by Jen

“Warped State” (“The Gifted of Brennex” No. 1) by Jo Miles

Jasper Wilder is an activist, not a spy, but he’ll become one if that’s what it takes to stop Ravel Corporation from reviving the research project that devastated his home planet.

His plan is simple enough: Break into the secure facility. Steal the research data. Find a weakness and sabotage the project. But all that goes out the airlock when he meets Havoc, a passionate but politically naive labor organizer trying to reform Ravel from within.

Havoc could help Jasper, but instead, he’s fighting for a lost cause. Jasper knows that if he sticks with his own plan, Havoc will likely take the blame—and Ravel doesn’t treat activists kindly.

With an elite security operative closing in, and time running out to sabotage the deadly project before it launches, Jasper needs to find a way to team up with Havoc… before his mission hurts the person he’s coming to care about.

Review

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting and I had fun getting to know them. I also liked the way various methods of advocating for change were explained and discussed in the book. It was interesting seeing how the main characters, Jasper and Sowing of Small Havoc were dealing with the various issues. I thought it worked out well to explore why Havoc was so loyal to the company (Kovari cultural reasons) and that there were others who felt differently among his people but it took work for him understand it. I also liked that while Jasper had ideas about how to do things he was willing to work with Havoc later on to resolve everything.

I liked the way the friendship developed between Jasper and Havoc and I was okay with the potential romantic relationship developing because it came later on in the plot and didn’t distract from what was gone on. The main villein was a bit ridiculous but given how certain people in the current administration are reacting to criticism it clearly isn’t as far fetched as you’d think.

One somewhat frustrating part was the existence of a villain character who had augmented legs while also being addicted to pain killers. The addiction only seemed to exist as a method to allow the ship he was using (which has at some point become sentient) to help Havoc and Jasper with their work as the character was unconscious at the time. Nothing is ever mentioned about it again after that.

I did like that there were other people on the planet that were working to free themselves from Rival’s occupation and that it was a mix of both Human and Kovari – seemingly with Kovari in charge of that group. I also liked that there was at least one disabled character (a wheelchair user) in that group to balance out the evil disabled character.

I’m interested in reading the next book in the series though and seeing more of this universe.

Book Details

The cover is blue with what looks like an industrial land scape at the bottom of the cover. With a star filled sky above it. In the background there is the black profile of a head over the sky looking towards the right. There is another planet with a moon orbiting it at the top right corner and a space ship flying up and to the left with a trail of yellow, white light coming from the bottom.

Author’s Website
Jo Miles
Publisher / Date
Self Published, September 2023
Genre
Science Fiction
Page Count
398
Completion Date
April 12, 2025

“SUPERSTORE” Review

Posted on by Jen

“SUPERSTORE” by T.V. Schaefer

You think it, they sell it. An idyllic chain of big box locations promising quick and convenient shopping. Today is just another day as a stockman and Store-Lead work their shifts, while a doctor, an actor, and hundreds of other patrons go about their shopping. But everything changes when both customers and employees find themselves trapped inside as black walls block every exit. It doesn’t take long before lines are drawn, forcing those within to confront the true meaning of survival.

Review

This was a strange tale about what happens when people are trapped together in a super store. It goes about how you’d expect it to go! I thought it was very interesting and I did enjoy reading it. The author never gives any of the characters names – they just have titles or descriptions like the Sockman, Mister, Miss, Kid, etc. Interesting choice and adds a layer of strangeness to the whole thing. Some things are rather vague and there are a couple side stories that are open to interoperation of what is actually going on. The ending doesn’t resolve the reasons for why they’re trapped in the store and we never really learn anything about that part of it but it odes resolve one ongoing plot point. It could easily be left as it is, since it really becomes a story about a small dystopian community living together, or continued if the author ever decides to do so.

Book Details

The book cover is solid black and at the bottom are yellow windows with yellow light signing down to the ground in square shapes. One of the windows is actually the entrance to a store. The title is in yellow at the top of the cover.

Author’s Website
T.V. Schaefer (BlueSky)
Publisher / Date
Self Published, September 2024
Genre
Horror
Page Count
156
Completion Date
April 6, 2025

“The Way of Thorn & Thunder” Review

Posted on by Jen

“The Way of Thorn & Thunder Trilogy: The Kynship Chronicles” by Daniel Heath Justice

Originally Published by Kegedonce Press between 2005 and 2007 as three books “Kynship”, “Wyrwood”, and “Dreyd”. The revised and expanded 2011 reissue from the University of New Mexico Press is an omnibus volume: one novel now divided into seven cycles.

The Everland-home of the tree-born Kyn since time immemorial, a deep green world of ancient mystery and danger. The wyr-powers of the Kyn and the other Eld Folk have preserved this wild region from the ravenous hunger of Humanity for over a thousand years, but those powers are fast fading away. As the eyes of Men turn once more to the Everland and its rich bounty, the leaders of the Folk gather in Sheynadwiin, the Kyn capital, hoping to find a way to survive the growing storm.

She is Tarsadeshae the Spearbreaker a fearless Kyn warrior trained in the Redthorn ways of battle and blood. She knows her place in the Everland’s cycle of life and death, and that knowledge gives her strength and purpose. Yet Tarsa’s ordered world is shattered when an act of courage goes horribly awry, and her spirit awakens to the wild wyr of her ancestors powers long persecuted by the assimilationist Shields and their allies. As she struggles to reconcile her former life with the call of the rising bloodsong, Tarsa joins the summons of the Sevenfold Council, where she is swept into the struggle between those Folk who would embrace the promises of Men, and those who would hold fast to the rooted understandings of the Eld Green. For all who call the Everland home, there can be no middle path.

Review

This is a really interesting and complex book. I read the original three novels years ago and have always wanted to read it again. The story itself is an alternate version of Europeans colonizing the “new world”. Only in this case a fantasy version of humans with magical powers caused a catastrophic merging of two worlds a thousand years ago – the world of Men and the world of Eld Folk. And of course Men want to have everything and don’t care what the Eld Folk want.

There is a lot going in this novel and while it does take some time to get through, I feel like it’s ultimately worth it. The writing is very detailed and mostly narration, while also having many different characters and points of views with individual stories happening around the central story. If you’ve read “Lord of the Rings” you’ll get a sense of what the writing is like. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the different characters and learning their stories. I did like the ending of the book and the hopeful feel of it despite everything that had happened.

You may be interested in reading Bogi Takács’s reviews of the novel (in three parts):
The Way of Thorn and Thunder by Daniel Heath Justice (Part 1)
The Way of Thorn and Thunder by Daniel Heath Justice (Part 2)
The Way of Thorn and Thunder by Daniel Heath Justice (Part 3)

Additional reviews and warnings can be found on the StoryGraph page for “The Way of Thorn & Thunder”

Book Details

The book cover is fulled with orange and red and yellow flames covering the vague image of ground and a tree with one or two faces in the center of the image - two eyes are visible but it looks like there might be two faces half on top of each other in the middle of it. The title of the book is on the top with a white transparent background over the tree and the authors name is at the bottom.

Author’s Website
Daniel Heath Justice
Publisher / Date
University of New Mexico Press, 2011
Genre
Fantasy
Page Count
616
Completion Date
April 5, 2025

“The Final Strife” Review

Posted on by Jen

“The Final Strife (The Ending Fire Trilogy No. 1)” by Saara El-Arifi

The Empire rules by blood

Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control.

Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance.

Clear is the blood of the servants, of the crushed, of the invisible.

The Aktibar – a set of trials held every ten years to find the next Ember rulers of the Empire – is about to begin.

All can join but not just anyone can win; it requires great skill and ingenuity to become the future wardens of Strength, Knowledge, Truth and Duty.

Sylah was destined to win the trials and be crowned Warden of Strength. Stolen by blue-blooded rebels she was raised with a Duster’s heart; forged as a weapon to bring down from within the red-blooded Embers’ regime of cruelty. But when her adopted family were brutally murdered those dreams of a better future turned to dust.

However, the flame of hope may yet be rekindled because Sylah wasn’t made to sparkle, she was born to burn.

Review

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were really interesting and I enjoyed getting to know them. The word building was great – I really liked how everything started to come together as the story progressed and the characters learned more. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book and not everything was as it seemed. I liked the way the different relationships grew and developed during the course of the book. Though it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger it does set up the threads of the next book, which I’m looking forward to reading soon.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Final Strife”.

Book Details

The cover is taken up by a white laced pattern that has a red strip through the bottom half and red cen also be seen through the lace. The title is written near the top with the authors name at the bottom

Author’s Website
Saara El-Arifi
Publisher / Date
HarperVoyager, June 2022
Genre
Fantasy
Page Count
478 pages
Completion Date
March 30, 2025