Tanya Kreuger, a junior at UW-Oshkosh with spina bifida has recently published a book titled “Disabled Bodies, Able Minds,” a collection of poems, short stories and photographs by herself and other artists with disabilities spanning the United States.
As a child, Kreuger spent a lot of time in the hospital.
“At birth my parents found out something was wrong,” Kreuger said. “I was born with a major curve in my spine and started experimental spinal fusions as a baby and toddler.”
Spina Bifida, literally meaning “split spine” according to the Spina Bifida Association, happens when the spinal column of a baby in the womb doesn’t close all the way. This occurs in seven out of every 10,000 live births in the United States.
Kreuger said her childhood seemed normal because living with her disabilities was all she ever knew. Although she spent holidays and birthdays in the hospital, the staff became her family.
“When you spend so much time hooked up to oxygen and monitors you learn real fast that you have to entertain yourself by writing or drawing,” Kreuger said.
“Disabled Bodies, Able Minds,” which is 40 pages long, took more than two years to publish. It is finally available online. Kreuger worked with others with disabilities around the Unites States, and even someone from the United Kingdom, to get this book finished. She knew about half of the contributors before the project started and met the other half through social networking sites online.
Kreuger used an online self-publishing company called Bookemon which prints each copy as it’s ordered. With this, Kreuger is able to sell the book through this company so the only cost is to the person who orders it. It retails at $16.40.
Adjunct Professor Dana Baumgart had Krueger in her Radio-TV Advertising course. After the course was finished, Kreuger contacted Baumgart about ideas to promote the book. Baumgart said Tanya “was eager to learn and did a great job implementing my suggestions
“I advised Tanya to start a Facebook page to leverage the power of social media to sell the book,” Baumgart said. “I felt social media was a great way to connect all of the contributors, since they live around the world.”
To promote the book, she published mini-bios of the contribution authors. She also took Baumgart’s suggestion and promoted the book through Facebook by creating a fan page.
“Getting the word out to people about it, to get the artist or writers, was the hardest,” Kreuger said. “But with better social networks things got better.”
John Swanson, senior physician at the Student Health Center, has known Kreuger since birth as her pediatrician.
“This book is neat because it is a compilation of different people writing about different disabilities,” Swanson said. “The contributors are reflecting on others’ problems, not necessarily their own disabilities. Tanya writes about her niece’s diabetes.”
Kreuger plans to donate all of the proceeds from the book to the American Cancer Society. She has already sent them the first $70 and hopes to raise a couple hundred dollars overall.
“If we can bring awareness to people about disabilities and raise money for a great cause in the process, that is great,” Kreuger said. “I have known a lot of people with cancer, and I am sure everyone knows someone who has had to deal with the disease.”
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