A large Wagnerian grandmother. A great-aunt known as ‘the Buchenwald chicken’. Shame and misery on the sports fi eld. A club-footed father who disappeared to the golf course every weekend. How do these experiences lead to a career in psychology? Able-Bodied is a unique account of how being the son of a disabled man and the product of an eccentric family brought Leslie Swartz to a professional life working with disability issues. At the heart of this tale is a moving account of a complex, troubled, but loving father–son relationship, a relationship that spurred a lifetime of trying to understand and come to grips with what different bodies and different abilities mean for us all. With wit, compassion, frankness and irreverence, Swartz considers the challenges faced by families, academics, institutions and everyone trying to make a positive difference to society. Poignant and often hilarious, Able-Bodied is a tale of confl ict, achievement, pain and triumph. It is a fascinating blend of personal narrative, anecdote and refl ection on society, medicine and ethics.