In “Being Crippled”, Nancy Mairs. She hates calling her disabled because she believes it holds her back. The author writes: "I certainly don't like 'handicapped' people, implying that I have been deliberately disadvantaged, by whom I cannot imagine (my god is not a general handicapper), in order to to level the playing field in the great race of life” (21). In other words, she doesn't want to call her disabled, because she wants to live her life with equal opportunity, even if she isn't. Her positive attitude makes her more active. She tries to live a normal life with her disability. She hates being paralyzed, but she tries to get over it. If she had a negative attitude, she wouldn't write her own story. She wouldn't do anything. I believe her positive mindset somehow helps her let go of something that is holding her back. She overcame the effects of her illness with a positive attitude. Mairs and Jamison's thoughts on how they have shaped their lives in positive or negative ways