Golem Girl

In 1958, Riva Lehrer is born with spina bifida. At the time, most such children are not expected to survive. She is told over and over again that she is broken; that she will never have a job, a romantic relationship, or an independent life. 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.