Interabled

October 14, 2024
Married collaborators and disability advocates Shane Burcaw (Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse) and Hannah Burcaw, a debut author, present a heartfelt collection of 22 interviews interspersed with the couples’ own personal narratives to showcase interabled romantic relationships across a spectrum of cultures,
sexualities, ethnicities, and disability experiences. The creators—who post
videos on their YouTube channel Squirmy and Grubs—balance seriousness and
emotional vulnerability with cheeky banter, particularly when addressing their own experiences with dating and marriage: “Every story from our relationship has two perspectives. There’s Shane’s memories of events, which is inevitably tainted by fantastical exaggerations that he’s added throughout the years. Then there’s Hannah’s perspective: clear, accurate, refined.” Centering adult perspectives, each included interview tackles issues surrounding sex and intimacy, discrimination, and balancing caregiving with a romantic partnership, alongside funny and endearing recollections. The Burcaws’ approach to
storytelling is transparent and genuine, often including parenthetical asides with further
context or extensive quotes. It’s a sophisticated and necessary compilation that sheds light on the normalcy
of interabled romance and how frequently it’s ignored, misunderstood, or dismissed. Ages 12–up. Agent: Tina Dubois, Creative Artists Agency.

December 1, 2024
Married YouTube stars share their love story as well as those of other interabled couples--people whose relationships involve "one or both partners living with a disability." Shane Burcaw, who has spinal muscular atrophy and is a wheelchair user, and Hannah Burcaw, who is nondisabled, are on a mission to illuminate less-represented romantic partnerships. They spoke with nearly two dozen couples, whose identities include diversity in sexuality, race, and gender identity, sharing their stories in their own words through Q&As or in third-person retold narratives. Interspersed segments cover events in Shane and Hannah's relationship--their early courtship milestones, travel misadventures, and IVF experiences. The importance of communication and shared passions is a theme throughout, as the interviewees recount their stories with candor and a lack of cliche. The couples span a range of ages; some have been married for decades while others are in their 20s. The accounts emphasize the ordinary humanity and deep humor and affection of their relationships. The Burcaws, who present white, largely write for an audience that's already familiar with aspects of disability activism, but they do include plenty of information to support readers who are just becoming familiar with anti-ableism. The frank focus on rarely discussed topics, such as "the assumption that physical caregiving must detract from (or altogether prohibit) an enjoyable sex life," is valuable. Enamored with each other and their shared life, Shane and Hannah are charming guides. A welcoming and inclusive celebration of love.(Nonfiction. 14-adult)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2025

Gr 10 Up-Burcaw's third collection of essays about disability, this one cowritten with his wife, expands on the previous works by including interviews, short stories, and essays from other folks with disabilities. They share in the introduction that they tried to provide "a representative smattering of many walks of life, with a variety of disabilities, races, orientations, and ages." The collection focuses on love and relationships as experienced by interabled couples, meaning "a relationship that involves one or both partners living with a disability." About half of the collection focuses on Shane Burcaw, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and is a wheelchair user, and his relationship with Hannah Burcaw. The other half of the book includes stories of people with a wide variety of visible and invisible disabilities: folks who live with ulcerative colitis, PTSD, fibromyalgia, and others. The Burcaws are most recognized from their YouTube channel, but may not be very familiar to today's teens. The collection is frank and characterized by the YouTube channel's usual tone and humor. The stories are oriented mostly towards those living as adults with concerns regarding marriage, IVF, and starting families. VERDICT This collection will fill a gap in helping all teens navigate their futures in an ableist world.-Taylor Skorski

Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2024
In a series of touching and humorous interviews, YouTubers Shane and Hannah Burcaw explore romance and disability by speaking with couples across the country about how disability affects their lives together. All of the interviews have a personal and understanding touch, coming from personal experience of learning to navigate the relationship between caretaker and significant other. Shane and Hannah interview over 20 couples and discuss their experiences being in interabled relationships, with one partner disabled and one not, including pressure from outsiders, personal fears, and the numerous struggles that these couples faced. However, the spirit of romance perseveres, as all of the interviewees are passionate about their relationships and proud of the work and communication they have put in to make their relationship stronger. Shuffled between the interviews are Shane and Hannah's own stories about their relationship, bringing further context to the experience of relationships between partners with different abilities. But in each story and interview, love prevails in the face of judgment and difficulty, making for an uplifting look at a life many may not know much about.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.