6 Books I Read During My Medical Leave Of Absence that Changed How I Think About Time Away from Work
I was catapulted into a world of isolation when I started my medical leave of absence (LOA) journey. At the time, I hadn’t met anyone who’d used LOA for (autistic) burnout or chronic pain. Nearly everyone I knew was working in a toxic, ableist, corporate environment, telling me to stick it out. Even worse, my only disability community was my employer’s resource group (ERG) for disabled employees, and we’d been barred from hosting community discussions about our medical LOA experiences.
I needed help identifying the types of care necessary for my recovery, a community to go to for advice and connection while navigating LOA, and the confidence to seek and obtain care and community. After a few weeks of aimless searching, a health provider recommended I read a book about chronic pain titled, Crooked. Crooked was the first of many books I leaned on during my LOA experience to make sense of what was happening to me and how I might be able to move forward. Below are my top 6 picks from my LOA reading list that supported me in curating my care team, creating community, and building my confidence to ask for the things I need and deserve.
Image 1: Book Recommendation Highlights
Whether you are contemplating a medical LOA, currently away from work on LOA, or recently returned to work from LOA - I’m certain at least one of the books from this list can support you in figuring out your next move. If you’ve read any of these titles, I’d love to know what you thought! Leave a comment or contact me here.
Medical LOA Recommended Reading List
Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting On the Road to Recovery by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin
Disability Visibility by Alice Wong
Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race, and Gender in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction by Sami Schalk
The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity by Devon Price
#1 Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting On the Road to Recovery by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin
Why did I pick this title?: After living with chronic pain since sophomore year of high school, I was paired with a black pain specialist for the first time at the age of 24. He was the first provider to truly listen to me and promptly connected me with another pain specialist who focused on patient empowerment and research-driven interventions. During our first visit, she recommended I read this book.
What kind of support did this book provide?: Care + Confidence
What were my biggest takeaways?: I am not doomed to depend on western health providers to address my pain symptoms.
Who might benefit from this read? Anyone who lives with chronic pain; Anyone who has only tried “western” pain treatments (e.g., pain clinic; physical therapy, etc.)
#2 Disability Visibility by Alice Wong
Why did I pick this title?: I didn’t have a disability community to lean on, and recognized I needed to learn about more disabled experiences to combat my feelings of isolation.
What kind of support did this book provide?: Community
What were my biggest takeaways?: I have a community, I just haven’t been introduced to them yet.
Who might benefit from this read? Anyone who does not yet have an inclusive disability community; Anyone who is not sure if they identify as disabled; Anyone who feels alone isolated their disability identity
Note: Follow #DisabilityTikTok on Tiktok to see more from and connect with disabled storytellers.
#3 Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Why did I pick this title?: After reading Disability Visibility, and devouring a few episodes from the accompanying podcast series, I was introduced to Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, a disability justice advocate and author. While it is not her first book, Care Work was popularized with the start of the pandemic, and made it to the top of my reading list.
What kind of support did this book provide?: Care + Community
What was my biggest takeaway?: Access is an act of love that we all deserve, not earn.
Who might benefit from this read? Anyone who is a caretaker (for yourself and/or others); Anyone who provides or depends on access supports or accommodations.
#4 Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race, and Gender in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction by Sami Schalk
Why did I pick this title?: When I learned that Dr. Schalk was also a black, disabled, queer femme, I knew I had to pick up her titles. I’d never read a book about disability written by a black, disabled, queer femme, and I was excited to learn from someone who shared so many of my intersectional identities.
What kind of support did this book provide?: Community
What was my biggest takeaway?: Although my disabled elders are not here to teach me their wisdom, I can learn a lot about innovation, joy, rest, and survival from their works of speculative fiction. I am forever grateful to Dr. Schalk for contextualizing a piece of our black, disabled, femme history.
Who might benefit from this read? Anyone disabled; Anyone black; Anyone who lives with chronic health conditions
Note a: Keep your reading list handy during this one - lots of book titles dropped that were used in the research for this book.
Note b: This title is also available as a digital, open access file collection here, courtesy of the author.
#5 The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Why did I pick this title?: After reading Care Work, I was waiting impatiently for the audiobook release of the sequel, The Future is Disabled. Afro-Futurism is a special interest of mine and I was excited to explore a view of Crip-futurism.
What kind of support did this book provide?: Care + Community + Confidence
What was my biggest takeaway?: Disabled people are inherent futurists who show love through access. I can be bold in how I practice access as an act of love because I have learned, from my own disabled body-mind, to build to account for the needs of the future.
Who might benefit from this read? Anyone Disabled; Disabled Designers + Advocates; Anyone who believes they may encounter disability
#6 Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity by Devon Price
Why did I pick this title?: I saw reviews of this title on TikTok and was interested to learn more about the author’s understanding of neurodivergence in families. Given the author is white, I also knew I would benefit more from their insights if I first grounded myself in the experiences of black autistic femmes, and I’m glad I did.
What kind of support did this book provide?: Care + Community + Confidence
What was my biggest takeaway?: I have done such a great job caring for myself despite all of the ways I was taught to ignore my needs.
Who might benefit from this read? Anyone who suspects they (or a family member) may be neurodivergent; Anyone aware of their neurodivergence; Anyone seeking support with unmasking techniques
