Unsettled
Unsettled by Rosaleen McDonagh is our nonfiction recommendation for August and is available for purchase on the Seaside Books online shop. Rosaleen McDonagh is a playwright, performer, columnist for The Irish Times and a member of Aosdána. Her plays include The Baby Doll Project, She's Not Mine, Rings, The Prettiest Proud Boy and Mainstream. Her most recent commissions were Walls and Windows for the Abbey Theatre and Contentious Spaces for the Project Arts Centre. Rosaleen holds a BA, two MPhils from Trinity College Dublin and a PhD from Northumbria University. She is a board member of Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre and was appointed a Human Rights Commissioner in June 2020. Unsettled is her first book.
As I always say, when writing about a book I think it is helpful to include the blurb as this is what folks might first read if they were picking this book up online or at one of our pop-ups. We are told:
Rosaleen McDonagh writes fearlessly about a diverse experience of being Irish, a disabled person, and a woman. Unsettled explores racism, abuse, ableism, and resistance, as well as the bonds of community, family and friends. As an Irish Traveller writing from a feminist perspective, McDonagh’s essays are rich and complex, raw and honest, and above all, uncompromising.
These essays may make some readers uncomfortable as they will have to confront the prejudice and stereotypes many of us don't recognize in ourselves – and they may bring a sense of vindication to others as they may see their experience articulated, possibly for the first time.
McDonagh says, “These essays are not by an inspirational person. These essays are not by a supercrip. These essays don’t pathologise my Traveller ethnicity or my gender. There was no triumphant moment of overcoming the violence inflicted on me. Instead, the pieces embody a diverse experience of what it is to be Irish. There is no room for wanting to deny or overcome my impairment. There is no hiding my Traveller ethnicity. The opposite. This book finally allows me to take ownership of my fractured heart.”
It is rare that I find a book that I think everyone should read, but I truly think that everyone should read Unsettled. I think so because of its subject matter and because of how accessible and joyful it is. I have shared openly that I have advanced osteoarthritis in both hips that impacts the positioning of my spine which makes it difficult to walk and stand, so I use a wheelchair to get around safely. When I first lost my mobility I looked everywhere for books and media that would give me a first-person narrative from a Disabled person. There are shockingly few books written about Disability by Disabled people. There are even fewer examples of books that are written through an intersectional lens. This book is powerful and honest about the challenges McDonagh has faced but it is also funny and joyful.
The book is a collection of essays and vignettes that discuss important events and moments in McDonagh’s life. As a content warning: this book addresses sexual assault, abuse, and suicide. Some of the passages in this book are hard to read. McDonagh, who has cerebral palsy, speaks openly about the sexual abuse she experienced while in residential care, her mental health, surviving suicide, and facing discrimination and inaccessibility throughout her life. The writing in these sections is straightforward and vulnerable in its honesty. McDonagh is clear on how her identity as a Traveller and as a Disabled person impacts the way she moves through life and how people treat her. Even though these are difficult themes, McDonagh’s writing is lyrical and passionate. I know that for many it can be easier to avoid reading stories about someone’s difficult life experiences, but I challenge those who feel that way to consider their privilege in getting to pick and choose which marginalized voices are valued and which are too difficult. This book pushed me to address my own internal biases. For that reason, I think that everyone should read this book.
McDonagh writes, “A disabled woman is not considered to have agency in the first place.” Much of her story is about trying to assert and find agency in a world that has been designed to strip it away. From denying a recommended hysterectomy to fighting having her hair cut, all of these stories center ways that McDonagh has reclaimed her identity and fought for access. Exploration of shame and stigma and its impact runs throughout the collection. Some of the pieces are lyrical and beautiful while addressing the harmful impacts of shame and racism and the desire to hide bodies that society doesn’t deem acceptable. Stigma, Body Punishment, Shame, Vernacular are short pieces but are ones that have stayed with me after reading.
I loved the story Queer Connections that outlined the romance and friendship between McDonagh and a man called David. It was beautiful and heartbreaking. There are so few books or media that tell of disabled romance and sex. Disabled people are often viewed as not wanting or having the ability to have sex or romantic relationship. It is like disabled people aren’t allowed to feel desire. The way that McDonagh details this 30-year friendship was nuanced and delicate, allowing for all the ways that her and David’s intersections of identity weren’t always clear-cut and easy to navigate. These themes are present in other stories in the collection as well such as Ink, Blood, Tears which made me cry.
One of my favorite stories in the collection is Caked On. She writes, “Style gave me a real sense of pride and confidence. It was never for men. It was always my way of letting other women know that I had read the full canon of Irish literature while also being able to tell the difference between nylon and Egyptian cotton.” I loved this essay in its honesty about how to pair vanity and caring about makeup and clothes and image with being a feminist. This is something I think about quite often. I love makeup and clothes, but I also am an unapologetic feminist and understand that the marketing and positioning of makeup and women’s fashion is harmful and structured under the male gaze. But I love a good smokey eye and red lip. I loved how McDonagh balances these ideas with humour and vulnerability. We can have fun and find confidence in caring about our appearance while also fighting against patriarchal norms. This essay ends in a heartbreaking scene where McDonagh recounts how the abuse she experienced in residential school has impacted her self-image and esteem. It is hard to read and adds power to her reclamation over her appearance.
McDonagh writes, “Traveller rights gave me ambition. Women’s rights gave me ammunition. Disability right gave me provocation.” These are the principles that inform this book, but it is never preachy. It is only honest. I found myself laughing and crying and underlining things throughout my reading. I usually identify who I think would enjoy a book the most, but in this case, I think everyone will get something out of this book. It is definitely one of my favorites of the year. I felt seen and I felt challenged and I learned so much. I’m continually impressed with the titles published by Skein Press. Pick this one up!
For more information on Unsettled:
The Irish Times Interview w/ Rosaleen McDonagh
Rosaleen on changes in hate speech laws
Rosaleen McDonagh, ‘Traveller women who don’t have children are pitied.”
RTE Sunday Miscellany: Crowning Glory