2017 NB: The title of this entry was changed from “Handicapped Heroines” to “Disabled Heroines” due to the fact that “handicapped” was and is an ableist term. I want to apologize for the poor choice, and apologize that I cannot change the URL to match the headline. Thank you to Brooke W. for bringing this to my attention on Twitter. – SW
It’s a little different than the “Help a Bitch Out” feature, but it’s all about looking for good things to read. Good Shit vs. Shit to Avoid is a recommendation thread devoted to books in a specific genre that feature a type of heroine, hero, plot, or locale that is often difficult to find, particularly when that feature is done right. Today, Heather, the awesome, from The Galaxy Express, is looking for disabled heroines:
When you have a chance, I’m hoping you can assist me with information about a particular type of romance heroine. I’m thinking my question might be eligible for your HaBO feature. A friend of mine and I were discussing how we’d like to read romances involving a handicapped heroine—one where the heroine gets the hero without any serious cop-outs.
By cop-outs, we mean:
1) The heroine’s handicap is resolved/healed in some way prior to her HEA.
2) The handicap becomes a non-issue based on milieu (e.g., deafness in an environment where every non-deaf human has to wear earplugs to keep the local inhabitants from piercing human ear drums with their loud calls).
3) The couple is united by a magical, psychic, biological, etc. bond they have no control over. This bond tends to ensure the hero can’t have a satisfying relationship with the vast majority of otherwise eligible women.
4) The handicap turns out to be a side-effect of great magical or psychic power that enables the heroine to save the world or the country.
SF/F would be nice, but we’re basically looking for stories regardless of sub-genre.
Oh, Heather, I hear you on the cop-outs. Love my conquer all, but there are some physical ailments it can’t overrule. What romances featuring disabled heroines do you recommend?
Dark Symphony by Christine Feehan had a blind heroine who could play piano. I really enjoyed the book years ago, but I can’t remember if she becomes immortal and can then see. Hmmm… She may have been healed in the end, but I’m not sure… I remember her being blind but never a “victim” mentality.
Hope that helps!
I seem to remember a Carla Kelly (Elizabeth Fairchild?) Signet Regency about a blind heroine who is wooed by a two men – one of whom wants to wrap her in cotton and keep her away from any chance of hurt and another who supports her need for independence. The latter is the hero, of course, and gets the girl.
I particularly remember a scene in the book where they are all touring the Tower of London and, with the hero’s help, she ascends to the top and he holds her while she hangs out a bit to feel the air way up there…or something like that, it’s been a while since I’ve read it.
Another mention for both of Jess Dee’s stories in the Circle of Friends duo. Only Tyler is book one, Steve’s Story book two. The first book…I don’t want to post spoilers…the issue is potentially there and in the second the…
Okay, totally can’t tell what the stories are about without giving spoilers. But Ms Dee doesn’t give easy cures to the characters, and I think she still manages a HEA.
Hot books too, BTW.
I’ve read a few of the mentioned above.
Aside from that, I can only come up with “Sisters Found” by Joan Johnston. It features a set of triplets, one of whom is missing one of her hands – birth defect, not an accident -.
I think she started developing the character in one of her earlier books (part of the Whitelaw series), but I can’t remember which one.
Not entirely sure this counts.
Nicole Camden’s “the Nekkid Truth” (novella in Big Guns Out of Uniform), the heroine was in a car accident and can’t recognize people’s faces.
Best story in the book, imo.
Definitely Hazard by Jo Beverley and Dancing with Clara by Mary Balogh. Also, Simply Magic (?, it’s one of the Simply books anyway) by Mary Balogh – the hero was horribly tortured and has had an arm amputated, is missing one eye and had horrible scars on one side of his body – but that’s the hero not the heroine…).
The other one I can think of is Palomino by Danielle Steel – I should probably hang my head in shame at admitting this out loud but I read it ages ago and my teenage brain thought it was pretty good at the time. During the course of the story, the heroine becomes paraplegic. There’s still a HEA but there’s no magic cure or anything. I can’t vouch for how good the novel would be if I were to read it again, but it does meet the criteria!!
While not necessary disabilities, I’ve recently read two titles that deal with diseases that (obviously) can’t be magicked away.
The first is Bright Hopes part of a series of titles that deals with a young, athletic woman’s struggles to have a normal life while not wanting to burden a husband with her physical problems. The second is Red’s Hot Honky-Tonk Bar by Pamela Morsi which is a older woman, younger man romance and he is sick (I won’t reveal with what).
I should clarify: Bright Hopes is part of a series, but it’s not all about the same person. It’s from the series “Welcome to Tyler.”
I went about half-way through the comments and didn’t see An Accidental Woman, by Barbara Delinsky. Poppy Blake is wheelchair-bound, runs an answering service, and catches the romantic attention of a journalist. She is disabled for life, no cop-outs. One of my favorites…
This probably won’t fit the Bitch in question’s requirements, but I wanted to put in a plug for Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love. It’s not a romance and the disfigurements and disabilities dripping off the pages are—bizarrely—orchestrated to create a family freak show (Dunn’s term, not mine.) It’s not really the ticket for this thread but it’s a lovely story, unlike anything else I’ve read, and I still remember it vividly even ten years later.
Don’t read on if you don’t like the idea of freak shows, but here’s the plot summary from Wikipedia:
Perhaps 20 years ago, there was a Harlequin Presents book, where the heroine was a painter who had gone blind, the hero helped her work through her issues (including giving her an ivory cane, since she didn’t want a typical white cane), and she ends up becoming a sculptor.
Someone already mentioned one of my favorites, Sandra Canfield’s Night Into Day (rheumatoid arthritis), but she also wrote Star Song, in which the heroine was Deaf and the heroine’s “little sister” (Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program) was deaf. Also Bobby Hutchinson’s Draw Down the Moon (heroine uses a wheelchair, trying to finish a marathon—the hero initially thinks she needs to be “saved” and ruins her first attempt, she is hella pi$$ed), and Hutchinson’s Sheltering Bridges (child of deaf adults [CODA] becomes a tutor for a deaf boy, falls for the dad, porntacular mustache on cover!) Caroline McSparren’s Listen to the Child (heroine deafened by gunshot in line of duty, eventually seeks a cochlear implant). Nightshades and Orchids by ??? (PTSD), Make Me A Miracle by Ruth Glick (heroine is a pediatric pulmonologist, strong CF subplot, hero may have Huntington’s). All of those books are Harlequin Superromances. There’s a Harlequin Historical, Sweet Annie, where the heroine has a significant limp.
Oh, and in SF/F, do read John Varley’s Persistence of Vision—awesome short story about a utopian community of deaf-blind people. Samuel R. Delany Jr.‘s fiction often features disability in some way, whether physical or perceptual/learning disability.
One point I feel should be made about Catherine Anderson’s Annie’s Song: IIRC, Annie’s hearing is miraculously restored via pregnancy—hormones or Annie’s body matures, something—and by the end of that book, she can HEAR. I threw that sucker across the room. Anderson also tends toward the “money conquers all” panacea—yes, her disabled heroines are feisty, independent, spunky, whatever, but they also know the alpha hero will pave paths everywhere for their wheelchair or install fences and intercoms on their ranch to guide the blind heroine so the heroine can be as independent as money will allow.
Awesome to see this topic covered at Smart Bitches—as a woman with a pre-birth disability, I’ve sought out books with realistically disabled heroines since I first got hooked on romances back in the early 80’s, so this list is going to be a treasure trove. Disability pride—that’s how I roll!
One more to add: Liz Fielding’s The Marriage Miracle. Heroine in a wheelchair from start to finish – and I think that book went on to win the RITA that year.
“Sweet Everlasting” by Patricia Gaffney had a mute heroine. It’s been years since I’ve read it, and I remember enjoying it, but I don’t think remember there being a miracle cure at the end.
“The Portrait” by Megan Chance, although it’s the hero in this one. The hero suffers from manic depression.
I have that one. Also, the heroine is treated like crap by her family through most of the book and manages to persevere. The king thinks she is malformed because she is evil so he tries to kill her. And her husband is a douche through, oh about 3/4 of the book. I still liked her though.
I’ve read a ton of heroes with disabilities, but few heroines. I can’t think of any not mentioned here. Except for a Loveswept I read years ago and can’t remember the title. Heroine had a limp and was carried into a hot bath by the hero then given a foot rub.
I have C. P. so I can recall thinking that this was my dream date LOL!
Amazing! Simply amazing. Can’t wait to read all of the comments here. Thank you, Sarah, for facilitating this discussion and thanks to everyone who contributed titles. I appreciate it so very much.
Ann Rose
One point I feel should be made about Catherine Anderson’s Annie’s Song: IIRC, Annie’s hearing is miraculously restored via pregnancy—hormones or Annie’s body matures, something—and by the end of that book, she can HEAR. I threw that sucker across the room
This does not happen in my copy of Annie’s Song by Catherine Anderson
Are you all reading the same Catherine Anderson books that I am? Cause I certainly don’t pick up on any overly Catholic bents at all. I am definitely not religious, and not Christian or Catholic, and none of her recent books have struck me as such. I particularly enjoyed her newest one that just came out about a month ago (forget the name of it, of course). As far as I can tell, the closest she leans towards a Catholic bent is by describing the family or the heroine as Catholic, that they pray, and attend church—nothing wrong with that. It kind of helps shape the characters. If you read closely enough, she usually has a supporting character somewhere that tempers the Catholic views of the main character—especially when they get in a snit about something. Maybe you’re just being overly sensitive…
In regards to Annie’s Song, she doesn’t regain her hearing through pregnancy or by outgrowing it. At the end of the story she travels to Boston to have an experimental procedure done (a very early version of the Cochlear implant surgery) that allows her to hear CERTAIN sounds only, but she cannot hear conversation. After the surgery she attends a special school for the mute and deaf for intensive education to regain speech (deaf people CAN talk w/ the right therapy), learn sign language, and lip reading. With the right education and training, it almost seems like a deaf person can hear, especially when they are reading lips, and you would never know it.
spam-o-meter: reading87. Damn, I think I did read 87 books in 2009.
It’s been awhile since I read it, but one of Dee Henderson’s O’Malley series deals with a blind girl (I think she falls in love with the paramedic). I think she becomes blind due to a car accident. It is definitely not explained away in any way. Christian romance (lots of angsting about giving oneself up to God) with some sort of suspense element.
addendum: Although I think God is part of what helps her cope with being blind.
I never really thought about it before, but it does seem that for the most part, if a disability is involved, it’s the hero who has it. Hmn. Curious.
Kristina, Touched by Jenny is a sequel to Webb’s Touched by Angels. The book you are most likely thinking of is actually called A Rose For Maggie – an absolutely wonderful tale about a single mom with a baby with Down’s Syndrome, by Kathleen Korbel (aka Eileen Dreyer). It won the Rita, for those who are into those, and should, IMO be required reading for all. The heroine is an editor, and the hero is one of her authors. He writes children’s books about monsters…among other things. Fantastic book! In fact, I think it will have to be my bedtime reading tonite! LOL
Betsy, the book you are thinking of is The Ivory Cane, written (perhaps?!) by plagiarist Janet Dailey.
Sandra Canfield’s Night Into Day is indeed a wonderful story about coping with RA. Ms. Canfield passed away a few years ago from the disease, so my guess is that it should read pretty true to life.
Myrna McKenzie’s Hired: Cinderella Chef has a heroine who’s a paraplegic, who lives in a sort of halfway house that the hero has funded. She comes to work for him as a chef.
Nancy Butler’s regency, Prospero’s Daughter, has a scarred heroine in a wheelchair.
If badly disfigured counts (and even if it doesn’t LOL), then Deborah Smith’s The Crossroads Café is an absolutely amazing read. The heroine was once the most beautiful actress/model in the world, horribly burnt over half her body in a car accident – and filmed by paparazzi as she burned. The hero is a restoration architect whose wife and son were killed when they jumped from one of the towers on September 11th . Both have come to the Crossroads in the Appalachian Mountains to hide out from the world. Watching these two incredibly damaged people come together is a wonderful and memorable tale. To quote the bailiff from Night Court, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, it will become a part of you. Seriously. It will. You will crave biscuits if you read it, tho.
Diane :o)
I have a pair of young adult books, written in the ‘60s, about a young girl who goes blind and has to learn to adjust. They were written by Beverly Butler, the first is Light a Single Candle and the second is Gift of Gold. They may both be out of print, I know I bought mine used. Light a Single Candle is one I remembered getting from the elementary school library, and it stuck with me to the extent that I had to find it. (My library must have been horribly out of date, considering the age of the book and that I read it in the late ‘80s)
With regard to Annie’s Song, the heroine is not cured from her deafness. Her family had always assumed that she was mentally disabled (this is a historical) and didn’t realize she had been deaf most of her life. I don’t recall any surgery, although she does attend a special school, but the essence is that she did not have 100% hearing loss, and could hear certain sounds that are high pitched or with the aid of an “ear horn” for amplification. It is the hero who realizes she is deaf and begins to teach her sign language.
I love that story! Wish she could get more stories published. And I definitely think it counts. Not being able to recognize people causes her a lot of mental anguish and to have a fear of crowds and strangers. (It’s a real disease, by the way – Prosopagnosia. Who knew?)
Wow, there are a lot of books in this thread I need to read.
And, double wow, I did not know RA could cause death!
I’ll second Catherine Anderson’s Phantom Waltz with the caveat that it does have a bit of a cop-out at the end with the hero. I don’t want to say too much but I thought the ending was lame. When I reread this book, I only read the first 3/4!
Justine Davis did a Silhouette which involved a super-active man in a wheelchair as a result of a heroic action. The heroine eventually overcame his reluctance to accept her love.
Dance with the Devil has blind Astrid who sees through the eyes of her wolf/werewolf/friend Shasha… Astrid is the nymph of Justice so it goes quite well as a “handicap.”
I’m tempted to include Dagmar Reinholdt from What a Dragon Should Know. She is quite near-sighted and has the unfortunate nickname “the Beast.”
Although in that story, Gwenvael the Handsome is the more handicapped of the pair because he can’t get over himself.
The Justine Davis/Justine Dare has a series of related books featuring protagonists with various disabilities, mostly amputees. The book about the super-active hero—who lost his legs at/below the knees after rescuing a stranger—is Morning Side of Dawn. I just loved this book.
A related (and earlier) title is Left at the Altar, which has another amputee hero, though I don’t remember the specific circumstances of his injury.
Second Chance Hero has a heroine with an amputated foot, if I remember correctly. I don’t recall her having any particular difficulty because of it—she has a great prosthetic foot, I think. The hero was involved with the accident, and that is a bigger problem in their relationship.
the heroine in brenda joyce’s “the perfect bride” suffers from PTSD (and eventually alcoholism).
For Kelly L.
Jennifer Ashley’s The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie has a hero who suffers from Aspergers.
In Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm, the hero has a stroke and is unable, which results in him being institutionalized.
Also, both completely awesome books.
I really appreciated the poster who made a remark about “invisible” disabilities. I think that while addressing or creating heroes and heroines with both physical and mental disabilities are admirable qualities, I have to say that most of the time I find a hero/heroine with a physical disability **not that there is anything wrong with that! So for anyone looking for a good book where the disability might seem “invisible” pick up Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger’s Love Story, this is non-fiction in a fiction thread I know, but it’s also an important perspective on what life love and living with a disability truly means.
For all the people on this thread who have “invisible illnesses” you should visit But You Don’t Look Sick, particularly the Spoon Theory and the Message Boards! Welcome Spoonies!
Sorry no books to add though.
Roxanne
There have been a few reprints of early work lately – the one that came out a month ago was one of them I believe. Her true new books versus new reprints go from mentioning faith/finding love/having sex, to practicing faith (some heavily)/finding love/no sex until marriage.
These are awesome!
There was a book I read years ago. Victorian era. She couldn’t use her legs at all and he carried her a lot.
I want to say that he rescued her from a fire when she was young, but there could have just been a fire somewhere in the book.
If I remember right, she never joins him as a vampire, but they live happily until she dies of old age…
Ahhh!!!! It’s going to drive me nutty!
It was a REALLY good book. Maybe someone will have better luck finding it with google than me…
Oh, cool—I’d love to read that. I believe that disorder (or a very similar one) was included in Oliver Sacks’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Not a romance, of course, but for anyone who hasn’t read it yet, you’re missing out. Your library will definitely have a copy.
Anne D:
“There have been a few reprints of early work lately – the one that came out a month ago was one of them I believe. Her true new books versus new reprints go from mentioning faith/finding love/having sex, to practicing faith (some heavily)/finding love/no sex until marriage.”
Her new book, Early Dawn is not a rerelease. It’s brand new with a first copyright of 2010. It actually was released right after New Year’s. It’s a historical, not a contemporary.
With her contemporaries: The Kendricks and Coulters are not that much into practicing Catholicism, so it doesn’t thread very much through the story. The new contemporary family she’s introduced are the Harrington’s, and they are practicing Catholics, but the Catholic thread is tempered by other supporting characters. Also, the whole “no sex before marriage” thing rarely stands in her books. The H&H eventually succumb, so that’s pretty much not an issue. I don’t see the Catholic threads as a big deal, and it certainly doesn’t dissuade me from reading her books. A good read is a good read, and her books are good reads. I repeat: I think you’re too sensitive on the Catholic issue.
I’d like to recommend my Regency, BLIND FORTUNE. It’s based on my experiences with my late husband who lost his sight to diabetes. One of the side affects was he often misunderstood conversations because he couldn’t see the speaker’s body language or facial expression. I thought this would be an excellent premise for a romance.
In BLIND FORTUNE, Lady Fortuna Morley has been blind since birth and remains so through the book. But because all she can go by is what she hears, she misinterprets the hero’s intentions toward her.
For excerpts, go to my website at http://www.joannawaugh.com and click on “Joanna’s Books.”
Someone mentioned a book about a hero with dyslexia (I think) and the heroine was the postmistress of Bath. I believe that book was by Arnette Lamb (I can’t remember the title to save my life). The cover had a woman with blond hair. Hope this helps.
This is a great thread!
I’m curious about how this works out with the Huntington’s – is it an HEA? I can’t help thinking that would be very tricky to pull off, since most people with Huntington’s die relatively young, and often through something as undignified as choking on their food, plus there’s the possibility of dementia. I will admit that my dubiousness is partially the result of my fear that I do have the gene (it runs in my family, though thankfully very late-onset and slow-acting). Has anyone else read this book?