Lois Keith was thirty-five, with a successful career, two daughters, and a partner of many years, when she was hit by a car and paralyzed from the waist down. Over the next few years, she discovered both a community of disabled people and a paucity of literature and public understanding about their lives.

In response, she began soliciting the manuscripts that make up What Happened to You? , a candid, powerful, and often hilarious collection of fiction, essays, and poetry by women with disabilities. Coming from a wide range of backgrounds and ages, impairments and experiences,...