Cover image taken from Blue Veronika
1999, gouache on Amate paper, 36" x 24," Private collection
GOLEM GIRL: a memoir, by Riva Lehrer
Published by One World, Penguin/Random House ​
​
Artist and scholar Riva Lehrer’s GOLEM GIRL, a memoir in the tradition of Hold Still by Sally Mann and Just Kids by Patti Smith, telling the story of how the writer, born with disabilities, searches for a livable, subversive identity in a society afraid of strange bodies, ultimately becoming an innovative painter whose work honors beauty of all kinds, with her extraordinary portraits interspersed throughout the narrative.
​
Order Golem Girl online, or ask for it at your local bookstore. Venues include:
​
-
Riva's favorite local bookstore, Women & Children First
​
Riva Lehrer is represented by Markus Hoffmann at Regal Hoffmann & Associates, NYC​
About the Book
The vividly told, gloriously illustrated memoir of an artist born with disabilities who searches for freedom and connection in a society afraid of strange bodies
​
“Golem Girl is luminous; a profound portrait of the artist as a young—and mature—woman; an unflinching social history of disability over the last six decades; and a hymn to life, love, family, and spirit.”
—David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas
​
WINNER OF THE BARBELLION PRIZE • FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR AUTOBIOGRAPHY • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS REVIEWS
What do we sacrifice in the pursuit of normalcy? And what becomes possible when we embrace monstrosity? Can we envision a world that sees impossible creatures?
In 1958, amongst the children born with spina bifida is Riva Lehrer. At the time, most such children are not expected to survive. Her parents and doctors are determined to "fix" her, sending the message over and over again that she is broken. That she will never have a job, a romantic relationship, or an independent life. Enduring countless medical interventions, Riva tries her best to be a good girl and a good patient in the quest to be cured.
Everything changes when, as an adult, Riva is invited to join a group of artists, writers, and performers who are building Disability Culture. Their work is daring, edgy, funny, and dark—it rejects tropes that define disabled people as pathetic, frightening, or worthless. They insist that disability is an opportunity for creativity and resistance. Emboldened, Riva asks if she can paint their portraits—inventing an intimate and collaborative process that will transform the way she sees herself, others, and the world. Each portrait story begins to transform the myths she’s been told her whole life about her body, her sexuality, and other measures of normal.
Written with the vivid, cinematic prose of a visual artist, and the love and playfulness that defines all of Riva's work, Golem Girl is an extraordinary story of tenacity and creativity. With the author's magnificent portraits featured throughout, this memoir invites us to stretch ourselves toward a world where bodies flow between all possible forms of what it is to be human.
“Not your typical memoir about ‘what it’s like to be disabled in a non-disabled world’ . . . Lehrer tells her stories about becoming the monster she was always meant to be: glorious, defiant, unbound, and voracious. Read it!”
—Alice Wong, founder and director, Disability Visibility Project
PRAISE FOR GOLEM GIRL
“Golem Girl is luminous; a profound portrait of the artist as a young—and mature—woman; an unflinching social history of disability over the last six decades; and a hymn to life, love, family, and spirit.”
—David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas
“Lehrer’s story is a revelation of an inner subjective life—full of tragedy, love, and creativity—pushing against the external social stigmas, cultural narratives, and prejudices surrounding disability. She admits a felt kinship with other “monsters” because their bodies were also “built by human hands,” but unlike them, she is her own purpose, her own meaning, her own unstoppable golem.”
—Stephen Asma, author of On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears
“ An extraordinary memoir suffused with generosity, consistent insight, and striking artwork.”
“Riva Lehrer is a great artist and a great storyteller. This is a brilliant book, full of strangeness, beauty, and wonder.”
—Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife