Review of "Of Such Is the Kingdom: A Practical Theology of Disability"

I received a review copy of the audiobook for Of Such Is the Kingdom: A Practical Theology of Disability by Summer Kinard.

What I enjoyed most in this book was the early sections discussing how the Orthodox Church understands disability and the fact that God allows disabilities for the purpose of cultivating virtue. I found this part really encouraging to listen to. I felt like it even applied to my experience of infertility, which of course is the inability to do something that others can do and that a healthy body can do.

I had some concerns about the author's suggestions for accessible Church School curricula. I talked with my husband about it, because he has a type of muscular dystrophy that affects all his motor neurons and causes all his voluntary muscles to be weaker. Kinard's suggestions heavily emphasize hands-on activities for all students in order to accommodate students with brain-based disabilities. This is something that would actually exclude my husband. He said that, if he were a kid, he would try to avoid going to class because he would think, "Ugh, I get really tired from doing the physical activities they do in class!" and it would feel like another place where he doesn't really belong and can't do what other people are doing.

The book seems primarily geared toward families dealing with autism or other similar conditions. Kinard makes an effort to mention suggestions related to other disabilities, and she has some "spotlight" sections on particular issues, such as blindness. However, much of the book feels specifically applicable to those who have autism themselves or in their family or among their church community members. From the way the book was advertised, I expected it to be more generally applicable to people with all kinds of disabilities.

Overall, I enjoyed this book the most in the earlier sections, and as it went on, I felt less and less engaged. In the beginning I expected to be giving it a 5-star review, but by the end it had fallen to a 3-star review for me.