STORIES BY AUTHOR REBEKAH PALMER
Official Author Portfolio
I think in images when I read. When I write, I create words descriptively on the pictures I imagine. My first degree is in English education and secretarial work from a fundamentalist Christian perspective. I hold a certificate in writing for children and teenagers from a mainstream professional perspective. I obtained a university degree in professional communication and emerging media from a global perspective. My privilege is to write for disability justice and intersectionality in this life as well as spirituality, poetry, and memoir. Please peruse my work and contact me for content writing.
PORTFOLIO OF WORK
Past. Present. Future.
DISABILITY IN RARE SPACES
April 10, 2020
My assignment for the RareIs blog sponsored by Horizon Therapeutics was to submit writing content introducing the concept of disability in rare disease spaces.
This had to be done with concrete definitions as many families in rare community don't see their child(ren) and adults as disabled but merely "special" or "blessed" or some other dismissive term instead of accepting a life-long diagnosis that may or may not be crippling.
This absence of validating disability in rare disease groups has led to the glossing over of financial need (support like SSI and SSDI), medication needs, and insurance needs as the dependent ages.
I am quoted from the article: "Rare is part of a bigger picture when disability is openly accepted. It's natural. It's human. Disability is a normal life."
Link to full article: rareiscommunity.com/2020/04/10/disability-in-rare-spaces/
LEGAL JESUS: HOW CHURCHES (MIS) HANDLE ABUSE
June 14, 2020
On May 20, 2020 I decided to share my story of abuse beyond what happened in my childhood church. I went on the podcast Preacher Boys with host Eric Skwarczynski and chatted about the experiences regarding existing as a disabled female in bible college.
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Recently, Eric gave me the space to have an article I have been working on for the past three years, as an extension of my book A Letter to Myself (2016 Aneko Press), printed on his online blog.
INTERVIEWING MY FUTURE SELF
May 1, 2020
I regularly submit articles surrounding life with the rare disease cystinosis to Patientworthy. Some of my articles describe others with rare disease and chronic illness like acromegaly, lyme, adenomyosis, and peers with cystinosis.
Many of my articles touch on adult issues that are ignored globally in rare disease like singlehood, insurance, social security, third party charity, adult disease progression, mental and emotional health, and disability justice.
I have also taken interviews on lifestyles dissimilar to mine, but which equally need to be heard like those with supportive rare community, adoption experience, transgender issues, and living abroad (because United States America is not the only place rare disease exists).
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One of my pieces for Patientworthy started as an assigned memo to educate and inform my professor and classmates about living with a rare disease and being on government assistance while finding a job. It was my 22nd article for Patientworthy.
"If I could write my life on paper so you could see I'd draw a heart with hairline breaks as a map with black and blue tracings."
Rebekah Palmer poem from "Map of My Heart: A Portrait of the Girl Behind A Letter to My Friend" Meme by Leigh Designs
ABOUT ME
Unveiling the Writer
Rebekah Palmer holds a BS in Professional Communication and Emerging Media from UW Stout in Wisconsin. She currently uses her communication skills and social media platforms to promote disability justice in rare disease spaces in addition to giving words to her own narrative surrounding leaving religious and spiritual abuse inside the broader US white evangelical community, specifically from independent fundamental baptist churches and their community-based counterparts that often name themselves after bodies of water and nature.
Her history in fundamentalist white Christianity led her to study social work initially, and through various professors and pastors, Rebekah has become an advocate and is seeking to be an awareness and subject matter expert in the intersections of disability, feminine/nonbinary, religious, and queer identities.
She writes content and assists in meme creation for Next Generation of Cystinosis and writes articles for Elephants and Tea, Patientworthy, and Vashti's Initiative. She has previously volunteered as a tour guide of historical buildings and has partaken in the performance arts as a kid and teenager as well as between the years 2011-2019.
Find her on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/Rebekah-palmer-08685647
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1052855. Rebekah-Palmer
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pg/WomanofJairus/about
When your're twelve and the doctor says cancer you start to feel that maybe you're really eighty-one or seventy-six or one hundred and five...
Rebekah Palmer poem from "Map of My Heart: A Portrait of the Girl Behind A Letter to My Friend" meme design by Leigh Designs
