In Sickness and In Health
Love, Disability, and a Quest to Understand the Perils and Pleasures of Interabled Romance
Ben Mattlin’s wife, ML, recalls falling in love with his confidence and sheer determination. On one of their earliest dates, he persuaded her to ride on his lap in his wheelchair on their way home from an Elvis Costello concert. Thirty years later, they still travel like this from time to time.
As Mattlin considers the many times his relationship has been met with surprise or speculation by outsiders, he issues a challenge: why should the idea of an “interabled” couple be regarded as either tragic or noble?
Through conversations with more than a dozen other couples of varying abilities ethnic backgrounds, and orientations, he sets out to understand whether these pairings are as unusual as onlookers seem to think.
What emerges is a candid glimpse into the challenges and joys of interabled love – from the first blush of sexual awakening to commitment and marriage, and through to widowhood.
