In her recently published book Beasts of Burden, artist Sunaura Taylor proposes that issues of disability and animal justice – which have heretofore primarily been presented in opposition – are in fact deeply entangled. Fusing philosophy, memoir, science, and the radical truths these disciplines can bring – whether about factory farming, disability oppression, or our assumptions of human superiority over animals –  Taylor draws attention to new worlds of experience and empathy that can open up important avenues of solidarity across species and ability. How can thinking about disability help us to see animals differently?

In her work Taylor says “I found that the disabled body is everywhere in animal industries. I also found that the animal body is integral to the ways disabled bodies and minds are oppressed in the United States today.” Thus begins her thoughtful investigation in which she uncovers how the path to liberation for animals is intertwined with the ongoing fight for disability rights. All bodies are subjected to the oppression of ableism. Beasts of Burden is an elegantly written work of activism, philosophy and the personal, by a brilliant voice.