Darla Schumm
Darla Schumm is a disabled author and educator. She is the associate provost for curriculum and faculty engagement at Hollins University, Virginia. Schumm has co-edited four books exploring intersections of disability and the world’s religions, most recently, Disability and World Religions: An Introduction.
~Rutgers University Press
In Healing Ableism: Stories about Disability and Religious Life, Darla Schumm explores the extraordinary stories of people with disabilities who struggle with the ordinary human challenges of faith and doubt, exclusion and inclusion, and injustice and justice. Blending candid storytelling, cultural critique, and theory, Schumm invites readers to reflect on the experiences of people with disabilities in religious communities and organizations. Schumm argues that it’s not disability that needs healing, it’s ableism that needs healing. In the final chapter, Schumm offers accessible love as one avenue for healing ableism.
Name of author: Darla Schumm
Date of Event: December 6, 2025
Book(s) highlighted: Healing Ableism
In this Verse & Voices author event, we celebrated the release of Healing Ableism by Darla Schumm with an afternoon full of connection and storytelling. Guests enjoyed a live interview with Darla about her experience and writing journey, followed by an audience Q&A. The event wrapped up with a meet & greet. Overall, it was an intimate social gathering where friends and family came together to celebrate Darla's success.
"Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to Vana and her husband Bass! They were excellent the day of our event! They were beyond supportive and helped calm my anxieties on doing a live interview. The days leading up to our event Vana kept open communication with me and kept me informed about everything. She even provided a list of the interview questions so I could read them over to make sure nothing would make me uncomfortable. Anytime I had a question she would get back to me in a timely manner. The event went smoothly. The interview, Q&A, and meet & greet were fun. Vana got the crowd to really engage so it wasn’t just me sitting there. I cannot thank them enough for hosting the event."
Darla Schumm