Skip to Main Content

On The Whole

A Story of Mothering and Disability

Published by She Writes Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

LIST PRICE ₹570.00

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

About The Book

Ona Gritz has had cerebral palsy all her life, but until she gave birth to her son, she didn’t really understand what it meant to be disabled. Her cerebral palsy affects her coordination and balance but not enough to have ever truly hindered her. “For the most part, I considered my disability a cosmetic issue,” she tells us in On the Whole. “Just how obvious is it? Do people see me as pretty despite the limp?” But now she’s got a new baby to care for, and no one has warned her what a physical job she has taken on. She can’t bathe her son by herself or carry him up or down a flight of stairs. Nor can she feed herself or even open a refrigerator with a baby in her arms. And her baby will settle for nothing less than being in her arms. With lyricism and candor, poet Ona Gritz shares her son’s first years with us, a time when she wanted nothing more than what all of us want—to be the perfect mother, only her imperfections kept getting in the way.

About The Author

Ona Gritz's first full length poetry collection, Geode, was a finalist for the 2013 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award. She is also the author of a poetry chapbook and two children's books. Her book Tangerines & Tea, My Grandparents & Me was chosen by Nick Jr. Magazine as Best Alphabet Book of 2005 and one of six best children's books of the year by Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine. Ona's memoir, On the Whole: A Story of Mothering and Disability, is available now as an ebook.

Product Details

  • Publisher: She Writes Press (March 9, 2014)
  • Length: 100 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781940838212

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images