CDIA's Authors and Artists

In LIFE SIDE UP, Jay, an active healthy man, develops a debilitating disease and loses the ability to fly airplanes, drive, or even walk. When an unfortunate car accident takes the life of Jay, the story takes an unusual turn; he wakes up as someone else and finds that he is no longer disabled. He can do all the things he could do in his previous able-bodied life, but he's missing one thing -- the love of his life, Janet. Life Side Up, which is based mostly on the life of author Ron Didur, is a love story with a twist.

Ron Didur is founder of the Canadian Disabled Individuals Association (CDIA). He lives in Vancouver.

Click HERE for full page &ordering.

With humour and gentle wit, A.J. Brown shares her inspiring life journey. She offers hope for anyone facing illness, disability and other life challenges. We all have great wealth or a special gift inside us. She chooses to share her own wealth of insight through poetry, art and stories. Her message is about finding your own voice and seeing beyond limitations to the love and joy all around. This is an insightful, inspiring look at living life - no matter how it is presented to you!

Click HERE for more information about A.J. Brown and her book.

Hi, my name is Jade Bell and I overdosed on a lethal injection of heroin, and cocaine, a careless decision I made under the influence of alcohol. I suffered from 15 minutes of oxygen deprivation, and as a result I slipped into a coma for a month.

When I awoke I could no longer speak, walk, or see, leaving me totally dependant on 24 hour care. To this day doctors are amazed that I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage. But I like to believe everything happens for a reason.

And believing is what gives me the motivation to carry on with what I do. I spoke with almost 60,000 students since 1999. This is in effort to not put a scratch, but a huge dent in an only growing epidemic that is plaguing our communities today.