Jessica Slice spent years working towards the day when she might actually like herself. If she just tried a little harder, achieved a little more, ate a little healthier, she thought she could earn her own self-respect. But after experiencing a sudden health crisis, Jessica was forced to put all that work on indefinite pause, and to remake her relationship with herself. On today’s show: who we can become when we let go of society’s standards of goodness.

If you’re interested in learning more about the books that shaped Jessica’s thinking on difference, disability and mental health, check out the list below:

• “The Minority Body: A Theory of Disability” by Elizabeth Barnes
• “Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Cure” by Eli Clare
• “Exile and Pride” by Eli Clare
• “Feminist, Queer, Crip” by Alison Kafer
• “The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability” by Nancy Eiesland
• “Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick”  Maya Dusenbery