The amputee's guide to sex

In her charged and daring debut, Weise artfully interweaves biographical details with meditations on the history of disability and sex, laying bare the complexities of finding sexual and emotional intimacy as an amputee with a prosthetic leg. In three sections, her assured voice masterfully navigates the potential pitfalls of her subject matter-from the risk of self-pity (there is none here) to the difficulties of speaking for her community. In the first section, evidence of this speaker's disability is hidden, ignored, or the object of curiosity and desire ("Your favorite post-coital pastime/ is nicknaming my scars"); it is also a fiercely guarded possession ("...I caught/ you staring at the railroad tracks/ along my spine, and I thought/ Mine, mine"). Part two borrows impersonal medical language to poetically redress the terminology of pain: "When and how did your pain problem start?... He met me in a dark alley." The third section imagines life and love alongside a character named "Holman." Weise also reproduces the cruelest examples of male fascination, as when the speaker's grandfather calls her the "prettiest cripple I ever seen." An agile and powerful poet, Weise references medical literature, history and poetry, speaking boldly and compassionately about a little-discussed subject that becomes universal in her careful hands. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

I. Removal of the Prosthetic Wait for partner to exit room, or initiate their exit by requested a favor. For example, "Could you check the front door? I can't remember if I locked it." Wait for shadows to stand still, then quick, under the covers, remove the prosthetic. Let it slip beneath the bed, under clothes, behind a door. II. Foreplay To create an uninhibited environment for your partner, track their hands like game pieces on a board. For leg amputees, keep arms on upper body. For arm amputees, keep arms on lower body. Engage with like limbs. Keep half-limbs out of reach. Your goal is to achieve a false harmony with their body. III. Sex Mobility is key. If they see the half-limb then they become inhibited, nervous. They think: "Will it hurt like this? Would she tell me if it did?" Mobility shows confidence. Think for two people. Know where your limbs are at all times; know where your partner's limbs are at all times. Excerpted from The Amputee's Guide to Sex by Weise Weise Jillian All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.