viii acknowledgments

the feedback of the anonymous reviewers (you know who you are!) as well
as the non-anonymous folks—including Cathy Brown, Audrey Harris, Mary
Olson, and Julie Todd—who willingly read and re-read my manuscript, helped
me say more clearly what I meant, corrected the bibliographic citations, and
developed the index.
The most extraordinary aspect of this process has been conversation. When-
ever I have shared the ideas that follow—in classes, conferences, churches,
and informal settings—people have freely offered their stories in response and
have joined with me in reflecting on the diversity of our connections to disabil-
ity and limits. Family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers, spread throughout
the country and across a span of many years, are thus all contributors to this
volume. Their conversational gifts immeasurably enrich this work. I am par-
ticularly grateful to my friends, colleagues, and students at the Iliff School of
Theology who have encouraged and joined this conversation on many levels
and who have been unfaltering supporters of my scholarly and professional
journey. Lastly, and foundational to the scope of this work, have been my dis-
cussions with theorist and communication scholar Heidi Muller. These talks
sparked a process of scholarship that continues today.
For all my conversation partners, I am deeply grateful.
Contents

Introduction, 3

1. Understanding Disability, 13

2. Disability and Christianity, 35

3. Theology and the Disabled Body, 53

4. Liberation Theologies of Disability, 75

5. Limits and Disability Theology, 93

Conclusion: Embodied Limits and Constructive Possibilities, 115

Notes, 121

Bibliography, 135

Index, 153
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