We’ve had books on NZ Sports Stars, NZ Adventurers, NZ Health Heroes and now with Out of the Box, we have a collection of amazing New Zealander’s stories who are deaf or disabled.

Beginning with an introduction from the author who is disabled herself, she shares what meeting other disabled teens was like when she was younger, and how inspirational her research was for this book.

Out of the Box shares the stories of 25 Kiwis. They are Activists who have stood up for disabled people’s rights, Adventurers who have achieved sporting excellence, or set challenges thought near impossible, and Artists who have shared their souls in dance, writing, illustration and the stage.

These three categories are mixed throughout this hardback book of nearly 160 pages, with a coloured illustration of each Kiwi beginning their story. The stories are succinctly written with about 3 pages + illustration for each, allowing readers to open the book anywhere to read a disabled Kiwi’s story.

There is a clear Contents page in the beginning of the book to aid readers in finding a particular person.

Some of these amazing New Zealanders are:

Don McKenzie who had to prove to a bus company that his guide dog knew how to behave on a bus. Before this, no dogs were allowed on buses which restricted disabled people’s transport options. He went on to be the first blind person to become president of the Royal NZ Foundation for the blind.

After receiving her grandmother’s advice to… “Just go for it” Libby Hunsdale did just that. She won an international award for acting, modelled, trained as a barista, and became an ambassador for a project to help disabled people into work and advocate for other peoples with Down Syndrome.

Eve Rimmer won 4 medals at the 1968 Paralympic Games. She was the only woman on the New Zealand team and the only medal winner. She was made a paraplegic in a car accident at 15, but after seeing a paraplegic sports event, she knew what she wanted to do. Eve held the record for 36 years, of being Aotearoa New Zealand’s most successful Paralympian.

When an unexploded bomb fell on Paul Curry and broke his back, he didn’t let that stop him having great adventures. He and his mates designed, built and hand pedalled across Cook Strait, Lake Taupo, Lake Wakatipu and other international stretches of water.

Adam Hall has spina bifida, but speeds of 100kms+ per hour is normal when he’s competing in ski slalom events. At 22, he competed in the Winter Paralympic Games in 2010 to win gold. He has inspired other Paralympians and gone on to win more medals.

Chanelle Moriah wasn’t diagnosed with autism until she was an adult. All her troubles at school were finally understood. Being neurodivergent has helped her write two successful books in record time and Chanelle credits her ADHD for her focus. Her books, I Am Autistic and This is ADHD have also led her to become an advisor for Austism NZ. “I am Autistic, not broken!” says Chanelle.

There is more to learn about these special Kiwis, and 19 others, in Out of the Box.

The flag on the cover signifies these New Zealanders:

“…putting a flag in the ground claiming their own space. They’ve said, ‘ I’m doing life my way’ and ‘this is what I need, in order to be who I am.’

The book also includes a Timeline of Deaf and Disability History in Aotearoa New Zealand, which in itself is a fascinating journey of how Disabled people’s rights have changed from the 1840’s right up to today. This includes language used, laws made or scrapped, ideas and beliefs challenged, and communications improved.

Out of the Box is a must for bookshelves in schools and homes. It highlights 25 inspiring New Zealanders and shows readers another part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s history that isn’t well known or accessible to young readers.

This particular journey through our history shows the changes made in our society, and the courage shown in hard-won battles by disabled New Zealanders for their rights to be who they are, receive the support they need, and the respect they deserve.

Author – Trish Harris

Illustrators – Benjamin Ackerman & Peter Woodfield

NZ Non-Fiction

Age – 12+

(2026, Otago University Press, Aotearoa New Zealand, Disabled, Disability, Rights, NZ History, Inspiring, Sportspeople, Artists, Activists, Dancers, Comedians, Filmakers, Laws, Neurodivergent, ADHD, Autism, Adventurers)