The Me in the Mirror
Panzarino is a severely disabled lesbian activist and art therapist, and her story is scary in its forthright honesty. Born with a rare progressive muscular disease, she has lived a life in which virtually no achievement is small and nothing is taken for granted. She speaks uncompromisingly about the pain of ill-advised childhood braces, the guilt at disappointing her parents, waiting for assistance with toileting, and being barred from elementary school and the day-to-day companionship of other children. Dependent on a mother with two additional children, one of them born with the same malady, Panzarino well communicates the great frustration, anguish, and turmoil she endured during her fight for education, employment, a usable wheelchair, reliable aides, transportation, accessibility, and, ultimately, a life of her own in which she could realize personal and political growth. A longtime friend and sometime lover of disability rights activist Ron Kovic, Panzarino eventually turned to lesbianism and political activism. She established Beechwood, a communal living environment for disabled women, where she continues her work as a therapist, writer, and activist.Whitney Scott