Look to this Day
by Joyce Faust

Introduction

Hello Readers!

I decided to name my column “Look to This Day” because each new day we are given a new opportunity to make changes in our lives, create a new reality and to enjoy each day’s splendor, from dawn through night. The entire Sanskrit verse the line is taken from follows.

With over 150 million disabled people in the United States, it’s safe to say at least one-third are women. In future columns I hope to represent women who have disabilities to have a positive outlook and a feeling of empowerment. I also urge able-bodied readers to peruse the columns because I’ll be writing about many topics that should interest all women. After all, I’m a woman first, then a woman who has a disability.

Note that I said a woman who has a disability. Too often, if one is visibly handicapped, society perceives the disability as defining the individual. She’s seen as a one-dimensional character and labeled "that disabled woman." Each individual is so much more than their disability.

Because this is my introductory column, I’ll write a little background on my disability. However, because I’m much more complex than being a wheelchair user, it won’t be mentioned ad nauseum in future columns. There are much more interesting things in this world to write about and writing is the creative focus in my life.

My childhood and young adulthood was normal. Signs of walking problems didn’t appear until my late thirties. I pushed up from chairs, my gait was unbalanced and I grabbed railings to pull myself up stairs. It took several years of different doctors and various tests to learn the diagnosis was adult-onset muscular dystrophy. Over time I’d gradually lose my ability to walk as my muscles atrophied. The only familiarity I’d had with MD was remembering kids in wheelchairs on Labor Day telethons. I had no idea MD could strike adults. The revelation surprised me.

The muscle weakening progressed slowly and I went from holding on to anything sturdy in my walking path, to a cane, a walker, a scooter, and finally a wheelchair. It has truly been a learning experience. When you read about or see a person on TV who says their tragic situation led them to see things in a different way, believe them. It happened to me. While I’m not a model for being positive about everything, the disability has surprisingly enabled me to be more positive than when I was able-bodied. It’s opened my eyes to appreciating so much more in life which I’ll write about in the future.

I’m very enthused about Penwomanship. Women need a magazine where they can avoid the glitzy magazine covers and insipid pages of text. It’ll be great to have interesting articles and fiction to enjoy in one issue. Aren’t female readers tired of the same topics in similar magazines? How to Catch a Man, How to Lose 10 Pounds, What Lipstick is "In", What Fashion is "Out", and Products One Should Buy (usually way out of the average woman’s pocketbook). And speaking of pocketbooks, how many more photos do we have to see of what designer purse a famous woman is toting or what designer shoes she’s flaunting that we can’t afford either?

Over the years magazines have changed immensely. Covers used to be artists’ creations. Now they’ve evolved into slick cover photos, usually of current "stars" we’ve seen on all the other covers smiling out from the newsstands. The focus is almost entirely on fashion, beauty, man-trapping, diets, and how to look younger (using incredibly expensive skin products or undergoing the latest cosmetic surgery techniques). It’s rare to find a "good story" in any woman’s magazine today. Good fiction took up the majority of pages in magazines of the past, now it’s a fiction wasteland. Penwomanship will be a welcome change. I think it will be a great magazine for women to peruse at their leisure: a park bench on a sunny day; during lunchtime at work; curled up with a snuggly cat at home.

I hope you’ll read my future columns and enjoy Penwomanship magazine. As a reminder, I’ll cover a variety of topics, so please don’t skip the pages assuming it’s only for women with disabilities. I’ll be writing about disability, but many other topics also. Now, and in future issues, please feel free to email me with suggestions, questions, or comments at ctjoywriter@yahoo.com.