Disability Rights UK CEO Kamran Mallick has reviewed Sir Bert's book. Read an extract below and head over to the blog to read the full review
A ‘Life Without Limits’ by Sir Bert Massie reminded me that we are losing the first heroes of the disability movement, the generation that won the rights we enjoy today. His autobiography charts the life of one working class disabled boy and the history of disability rights in the UK.
Sadly, I never met Bert Massie, but I both benefited from his campaigning and faced parallel barriers. He was born nearly 25 years before me and contracted Polio as a baby in Liverpool whereas I caught it in Lahore shortly after learning to walk. I lived at home and went to my local high school. We both experienced disrupted education because of numerous surgeries and barriers to higher education which meant getting our degrees in our late 20s. The book is funny, poignant and full of historical detail. Perhaps it is time for a mainstream film or series to share the stories of disabled activists with the world?