I had been meaning to read this one for a while and I am glad I finally got down to it. I probably should have read the subtitle, "Disability Justice in the Church" as I didn't realize quite how much religion and disability specifically in the church setting the book would have, but that being said, I did appreciate this perspective. Kenny does a great job bringing in a perfect mix of religious content, disability rights/advocacy and pop culture references (my favourite was of course Leslie Knope with the sloth from zootopia coming in a close second). I also liked the analogies and descriptions she used to make readers understand her perspective. One example that stood out to me was the microaggressions as mosquito bites analogy because it shows that while they may be easily dismissed as not a huge deal, over time they add up (or if you're like me and are allergic to them, they swell up and definitely don't go away easily, so I definitely understand this idea of microaggressions not being so easy to ignore). I also liked her anecdotal ideas like people dragging out vowel sounds in words signals awkward feelings and how "faking disabilities" is a more common trope on tv than I would have realized, and in that, how harmful that is. Her facts and messages were also really important. She said that 67% of people feel "uncomfortable" talking to a disabled person, and as awful as that sounds, I wonder if it is actually an underrepresentation...

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about disability advocacy and rights, as well as for anyone who might want to rethink the way that the Church and religious people often view people with disabilities. It is well written and has some really great information as well as other thought provoking reflection opportunities. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this one!

A wonderful book to add into any disability scholars’ library. I think this adds some much need nuance to conversations around how churches perceive themselves versus the harmful ideals they often actually perform.

We had the author on our podcast, and it was a great conversation on the topic of ableism and Christianity.

This was a moving account - personal woven with data and Scripture - that invites readers to reconsider how Christian faith does not always match the physical practices in welcoming all bodies into community.

The title is provocative and anyone who has been a part of a church should feel their ears perk up at the title and a little pang in their heart. What do we really think about disability and its place in church life? What do we really think about our bodies and what healing is and isn't?

This is an absolute must read for preachers and pastors and any lay leaders of programs where they work or might work with disabled people. I am already planning to use a chapter of this book as a sermon. It's beautiful and this book was a gift to me.

I found this a challenging book to read for many reasons. All thought-provoking ones!

As a disabled Christian it touched many raw nerves. In the middle of reading it I wheeled up for Eucharist in a church I had not attended in a while and the Minister boomed out "THE BREAD OF CHRIST" very slowly and deliberately as if all people in wheelchairs also have an intellectual disability or are deaf as posts (I am deaf as it would happen, but he did not know that!). I recognised many instances of experiences Amy Kenny had had, and found that they brought back memories whose places still felt very raw.

The book made me sit back and ask myself how well I was at caring for all my disabled Christian siblings. Quite naturally your personal experience of disability allows you to empathise more easily and help provide solutions with others in similar situations, rather than with others who have conditions you're not so familiar with. The book has encouraged me to use a much wider angle of lens when considering disability.

I found Kenny's activist tone much more bombastic than I am used to hearing. I agree that in an ideal world the disabled community should not be excluded or discriminated against in any way, shape or form. But there is sadly a world of difference between that, and what is achievable now,

I found this a tough but important read. Being a Christian and disabled can be extremely difficult and I love that this book has been written! Hearing the authors experiences was helpful to me and I know it will help comfort and help towards the healing of all those people who have been hurt by feel like they are an unanswered prayer.

Thoughtful and urgent. A must-read for church leaders struggling with disability policy — and just people wanting to understand disability justice better in general. So glad this exists.

I understand firsthand the pain of being labeled as "the sick person", or the one who "always needs prayer"... anyway, the tone of this book made me sometimes more uncomfortable than giving me hope or a positive perspective. In other parts, I felt seen and understood. It was a bittersweet experience to read it. I can not change others, but I can change the way I perceive things or speak to God about my pain so He can give me endurance to even be kind to the people who don´t understand deep, unchangeable, and uncurable sickness. I felt anger in some lines, not frustration. Since I don´t know her I´ll pray for the author because I respect everybody´s journey and I´m sure she is on her own path through life, but I know she doesn´t want to be a prayer request so I don´t know exactly what to do or how to react in a way that she feels loved. I believe the body of Christ is always inclusive, but there are certain people who won´t include it. That won´t change on this side of the sun.

This is such a fantastic read. When able-bodied people look at disabilities we often see either something that needs to be fixed, or believe that suffering sanctifies and is it’s own good. I appreciate her assertions that she is fully the imago dei, just as she is. This is something we should all read.

As a recently disabled person, I read Amy Kenny's book with great interest. I am new to realizing and rejecting internalized ableism so I found that this book sparked a lot of good conversations about how I and others fit into the Christian faith as well as the Church with a capital C. In the middle of the COVID pandemic - an ongoing mass disabling event - My Body Is Not a Prayer Request couldn't be more (unfortunately) timely.

There’s a lot to unpack in this book! I feel grateful to the author for her vulnerability and transparency, and I do feel like I learned from this book. I would say the pacing is slow and heavy, which made me drag my feet on reading it a little bit, and I do wish that there were more actionable items mixed throughout; they felt present at the end of the book but absent at the start, which led to a feeling of “okay, everything we’re doing is wrong but how do I do better.” Perhaps unintentionally, that can feel like an attack when the readers who pick up this book are already at least interested in doing the work, but I also recognize it’s not the job of disabled people to educate general society on how to do better. Lots to wrestle with. Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Amy Kenny for my Advanced Readers Copy of My Body is not a prayer request. My thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

As a disabled woman this one grabbed my attention quickly, even though I am not super religious. But i think there is a lot in this book that needs to be said and read, even for the non-religious individuals.

The book, while important topics, did lose my interest as it felt like i was reading an academic like paper, but still important read I think.

I'm only 5% into this book and wow. I think every Christian needs to read this.

My biggest complaint is that it reads more like a research paper than a novel, which was fine in the beginning but I began to get distracted as the book progressed. The content is so important that I powered through and I'm so glad I did!

Favorite Quotes:
"Some of the irony is that my life isn't disastrous or deficient at all. Most days, my disability isn't the worst part of my day, or even what I need prayer for. To assume that my disability needs to be erased in order for me to live an abundant life is disturbing not only because of what it says about me but also because of what it reveals about people's notions of God. I bear the image of the Alpha and the Omega. My disabled body is a template for the Holy Spirit. I have the mind of Christ. There's no caveat to those promises. I don't have a junior holy spirit because I am disabled. To suggest that I am anything less than sanctified and redeemed is to suppress the image of God in my disabled body and to limit how God is already at work through my life. Maybe we need to be freed not from disability but from the notion that it limits my ability to showcase God's radiance to the church. What we need to be freed from is ableism."

A big thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this one!

Oftentimes the church is the last institution to get on board with something society at large has already embraced. That includes anything having to do with compassion and understanding.. They may comply with building codes to obey the bare minimum of the law, but not many in the church felt the need to do more than that. Forget leading society in the call for equal access to facilities and activities. Forget easing the way for those who find stairs impossible. It's about time someone shined a light of hypocrisy of the able-bodied..

A beautifully written book about disability theology from a personal perspective. This is a great read for a church Bible study, book club, or discussion group. If you are looking to better understand the experience of a disabled Christian, to accommodate disabled people more, or how to be a better friend to a disabled person, this book will be helpful for you.

Society talks more about disability and is including the disability community more in those conversations, but as Kenny explores in her book, the Church is often behind the times in this area. This book turns worship on its head by exploring the Church, the Bible, and God themself in terms of disability and how we need to make the disability community more comfortable within church communities.

This book spoke to me, because even though my own disabilities are “invisible,” I live my life around them and want to be included and considered in all of my communities, including my church community. I tore through this book and it really resonated with me. If you are a person living with disability, it can help you feel less alone and remind you that you are deserving of what you need, and if you are not part of the disability community, it’s an opportunity to listen to the voice of someone who can help you to create a welcoming space for those with disability in your church and in your every day life.

Definitely recommend checking this one out at your local, indie bookstore or library.

Not an easy read, but the author has stubbornly forged a relationship with the Christ who saves us. The big takeaway I'll continue to think about is cured versus healed. If we are made in God's image, aren't disabled people already whole in Jesus? Being transparent about situations handled poorly, the thoughtless things people have said, our wrong theology about Jesus's healing powers, and how the church must do better, this book will leave you rethinking things. I've long thought we had our theology wrong here, and this book joins a handful of others who are teaching me a better way.

While this book was very eye-opening, it also made me sad. In 2022 (some 30 years after ADA laws were put in place), no person should have to endure this kind of treatment. Perry shares the many horrific treatments she’s received as a person with a disability. Perry had to repeatedly prove her disability even after she had all the proper documentation. There’s no excuses for these infractions. But like Maya Angelou said, “when you know better, you do better”. This book is a start for all of us to do better. I strongly recommend this book for anyone that works with people.

Amy Kenny has written a book that all those in church leadership should read. As a parent of a child who needs access to special accommodations at church, it's had me thinking about accommodations that others could benefit from as well. This book brought even more to my attention than just physical accommodations though! And I highly recommend this book!

I want to share this book with everyone. It should be required reading for church staff or anyone in Christian ministry. So often we can harm and belittle those we are trying to love.