Sunday, December 07, 2014

Shock and Mourning

I am in a state of shock.

I am grieving.

I am mourning the loss of a woman who, though I've never met, I greatly admired. She was a strong, powerful advocate for disability rights and an example of what living with pride looked like. Her voice was strong. The world was fuller with her in it. Her loss is an enormous one. My sympathies go out to her family, her friends and her fans world wide. For those who never heard her speak take the opportunities to see her at work:

Her TED talk ...


Her stand-up ...


I had harboured a wish that I would meet her one day. That one day she might visit Canada, that one day I might visit Australia, that one day we'd have tea.

I mourn the loss of that hope.

Stella Young fought the good fight, showed how it could be done with style and humour. May her life of pride forever be an example for those who wish to fight the good fight with grace, humour and style:



Stella, you, are now, and forever will be, missed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for introducing Stella to me.
So sad to watch and know of her death.

cinderkeys said...

No! I had no idea that she'd died. Dammit. I've lost count of how many times I shared her essay about "inspiration porn."

Dammit.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what you'll think of this. I found it respectful and perhaps a propos. http://www.sun-gazing.com/thought-provoking-campaign-represents-people-disabilities/