Hi, Karen Feeding listeners. It's Elizabeth. We're off today for Memorial Day, but wanted to share an episode from another Slate show that we think you'll love. In this episode of how-to, listener Andrea can't seem to find advice on parenting with a disability. So Carvel Wallace brings on Jessica Slice, author of the new book Unfit Parent, A Disabled Mother's Challenges in

in inaccessible world to help Andrea reimagine parenthood. It's an amazing listen and we know

you'll love it. We'll see you back here on Thursday for another new episode of Karen Feeding,

but until then, enjoy the show. There's so little out there about disabled parenting.

I feel almost desperate for the map, you know.

Welcome to how to. I'm Carval Wallace.

What can a person say about parenting that hasn't already been said?

It's nonstop. It's overwhelming. It's mind-blowing.

And it's intensely rewarding. But most of all, parenting is physical. You're carrying your kids around, you're making dinner, you're chasing toddlers through grocery stores and parking lots, you're picking up toys. Parenting is often a physical act as much as it is, an emotional one. So what happens if you are a parent, but you

have limits on how physical you can be because you have a disability? How do you do what needs

doing? How do you deal with others who doubt your ability to care for your children? These are all

challenges faced by today's listener.

My name's Andrea, and I am dealing with chronic illness and disability, and I have some

questions about disabled parenting and how to make parenting more accessible.

Andrea has a severe, complex chronic illness, and one of her diagnoses is Potts, POTS, or Postural

orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. It's a condition that can cause lightheadedness,

fainting, and a rapid heartbeat when you go from lying down or sitting to standing. It can also

cause extreme fatigue, meaning it's hard for Andrea to be upright for

long periods of time, and it's even harder for her to leave the house for the day.

It's a dynamic disability, so it's often invisible, actually, to other people, unless I'm

using a mobility aid. I'm a part-time wheelchair user, but I didn't start kind of considering

myself disabled until, I don't know, maybe five years ago or so.

...