Jessica
Slice
Author, Essayist, and Speaker
Writing about perfectionism, disability, and poetry from my adjustable bed.
Praise for Jessica Slice
“A must-read for anyone committed to building a just and accessible world.”
Aubrey Gordon
“Filled with insight that manages to be at once beautiful and razor-sharp. This book is fucking elucidating. I cannot recommend it highly enough.”
Ann Helen Petersen
“Cuts boldly and beautifully through that silence, inviting readers to imagine what our world might look like if we met every family where they are.”
Vogue
“Interweaves her personal experience with a deeper, researched examination of what it means to be a disabled parent in a culture that prizes individualism and fears disability. It also offers an illuminating perspective that applies to all parents.”
The Washington Post
“Details her own story beautifully and intersperses it with oft-ignored research.”
The Cut
“Glorious, revelatory...joy that the entire world can learn from.”
Ed Yong
Essays
The New York Times • He Cared About Me, So I Broke Up With Him • November 19, 2021
The Atlantic • Homes Still Aren’t Designed For A Body Like Mine • July 28, 2025
The New York Times • My Power Wheelchair Makes Me A Better Mom • April 17, 2020
The Atlantic • The Biggest Surprise About Parenting With A Disability • April 14, 2025
The Wall Street Journal • I Didn’t Want Kids — Until I Became Disabled • April 19, 2025
Cup of Jo • What Disability Taught Me About Parenting • April 14, 2025
Time Magazine • Disabled And Mom Enough • May 9, 2025
The Globe & Mail • What Disability Can Teach Us About Becoming A New Parent • April 12, 2025
The Guardian • I Can’t Go Everywhere My Daughter Goes – And It's Heartbreaking • April 15, 2025
romper • All Parents Could Benefit From The Creativity & Ingenuity Of Disability Culture • April 15, 2025
Literary Hub • How The Child Welfare System Prioritizes Autonomous Family Units, And Punishes Disabled Parents • April 18, 2025
Slate • I Already Knew I Was Fragile • April 18, 2025
The Washington Post • Parenting With A Disability Makes Me Feel Like An ‘Impostor’ As A Mother • September 4, 2019
The Washington Post • My Disability Doesn’t Shorten My Life Expectancy. Medical Rationing Might. • April 9, 2020
romper • My Disability Means I Spend 20 Hours A Day In Bed — It’s My Kids’ Favorite Spot In The House • November 26, 2024
Hippocampus Magazine • Throwing Myself Into Walls • May 9, 2022
Glamour • What Are You Doing Right Now? I’m In Chronic Pain • February 12, 2020
Media & Press
The Washington Post • The World Often Judges Disabled Parents. What If It Listened To Them? • November 11, 2025
Vogue • With Her New Book, Unfit Parent, Jessica Slice Upends Assumptions About Disability And Motherhood • April 17, 2025
The Cut • Dismantling The Disabled-Parent Myth • April 15, 2025
The New Yorker • How Much Should You Know About Your Child Before He’s Born? • April 21, 2025
Literary Hub • From The Nightmares Of The Third Reich To Elon Musk: 10 Nonfiction Books To Read In April • March 31, 2025
NPR • A Disabled Mom's Message To Parents: We All Need Help, And It's Ok To Ask For It • May 31, 2025
Culture Study • A Beautiful Conversation That Will Shift Your Thinking About Parenting • May 18, 2025
Glamour • Author Jessica Slice On What We Can All Learn From Disabled Parents • November 26, 2024
Mother Jones • Pregnancy Is A Minefield When You're Disabled • July 10, 2025
The Massachusetts Review • Review Of Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges An Inaccessible World By Jessica Slice • July 8, 2025
In Pursuit of Clean Countertops • We're Worried About The Wrong Things: The Myth Of American Motherhood Is Inherently Ableist • April 18, 2025
Now What • “Having A Baby Is A Forced Reckoning With Our Fragility And Need.”: A Q&A With Author Jessica Slice On What We Can All Learn From Disabled Parenting • April 29, 2025
Raising Her Voice • Unfit Parent: Lessons From Disability Culture On Parenting And The Good Life • April 14, 2025
Diversability • A Conversation With Author Jessica Slice • March 31, 2025
Podcast Appearances
NPR: Here & Now • New Book 'Unfit Parent' Shares What Parents With Disabilities Can Teach The Rest Of Society • April 30, 2025
BBC: All Access • “Giving Birth Is Like A Quick Introduction To Disability” • April 30, 2025
Slate: How To! • How To Parent With A Disability • May 6, 2025
The New York Times: Modern Love • He Cared About Me, So I Broke Up With Him • November 15, 2023
A Slight Change of Plans • “I Feel So Wildly Lucky To Like Myself” • August 4, 2025
NPR WNYC: All Of It • A Disabled Mother Writes About The Challenges Of Parenting In An Inaccessible World • May 9, 2025
Good Life Project • Finding Joy In A Life You Never Saw Coming • July 3, 2025
Kelly Corrigan Wonders • Thanks For Being Here - Jessica Slice's “Unfit Parent” Story • June 29, 2025
NPR News • Disabilities Beat: ‘Unfit Parent’ Challenges Parents To Rethink Who They 'should' Be • May 14, 2025
The Mental Illness Happy Hour • Myths About The Disabled Parent • June 20, 2025
Burnt Toast • Every Parent Is (Kind Of) Disabled • April 24, 2025
CBC: Fresh Air • Unfit Parent: A New Book About Raising Children While Disabled • May 31, 2025
NPR: Embodied • Parenting Wisdom From An Interabled Couple • July 10, 2025
Tilt Parenting • Jessica Slice On What We Can All Learn From Disabled Parenting • April 22, 2025
What Fresh Hell • Fresh Take: Jessica Slice On Parenting While Disabled • April 18, 2025
Disability After Dark • Unfit Parent with Jessica Slice • April 15, 2025
The Mother Of It All • The Wisdom Of Disabled Parenting 2.0 With Jessica Slice • April 7, 2025
Slate: How To! • How To Date With A Disability • July 23, 2024
Brain & Life • Parenting And Writing While Disabled With Jessica Slice • December 12, 2024
The Motherly Podcast • This Is How We Play: Caroline Cupp And Jessica Slice On Disability, Motherhood, And Representation • October 31, 2024
The Children's Book Podcast • Kids With Disabilities Growing Up With Jessica Slice, Caroline Cupp, And Kayla Harren • January 21, 2025
The Mother Of It All • The Wisdom Of Disabled Parenting With Jessica Slice • January 22, 2024
CBC Sickboy • Unfit To Parent? The Stigma Of Disabled Parenting • October 2, 2024
Seeing Other People • Swiping Right, Hooking Up, And Settling Down While Chronically Ill And Disabled • July 25, 2024
Dating Intentionally • Dating With Disability & Chronic Illness Ft. Jessica Slice • July 12, 2024
Lovestruck Daily • Chess Master & Crocheter: A Love Story with Disability Advocate Jessica Slice • May 31, 2022
The Mother Of It All • The Wisdom Of Disabled Parenting With Jessica Slice • January 22, 2024
Time to Lean • What Makes An “Unfit Parent”? With Author Jessica Slice • April 16, 2025
Low Demand Parenting • But Make it Structured • November 11, 2025
Broadcast Media Appearances
PBS Newshour • New Book ‘Unfit Parent’ Provides Valuable Parenting Lessons From The Disabled Community • April 12, 2025
The Social • ‘Unfit Parent’ With Jessica Slice • May 8, 2025
Good Day Chicago • Lessons For All Parents From A Mom With Disabilities • May 1, 2025
Daytime • Disability Doesn’t Equal Disadvantage In Parenting • April 28, 2020
About Jesica
Jessica Slice is a disabled author, speaker, and essayist. Her book, Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World was one of NPR's top books of 2025. She is the co-author of Dateable: Swiping Right, Hooking Up, and Settling Down (Hachette, 2024) and This is How We Play (Dial, 2024), as well as the forthcoming This is How We Talk (Dial, 2025) and We Belong (Dial, 2026), which was co-authored with the late Judy Heumann. She has been published in Modern Love, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, the Guardian, The Globe & Mail, LitHub, Alice Wong’s bestselling Disability Visibility, Slate, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and more. She’s been featured in Vogue, The New Yorker, PBS, NPR, The Cut, the BBC, and more. She lives in Toronto with her family.