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How We Can Heal
A podcast to share deep conversations about How We Can Heal from life’s toughest circumstances.
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How We Can Heal
Disabled And Proud: Laszlo Jajczay’s Journey
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What happens when accessibility stops being an afterthought and becomes the starting line? That question drives our conversation with journalist, podcast host, and disability rights advocate Laszlo Jacksai, whose work blends reporting, storytelling, and community care to challenge the subtle and not-so-subtle ways ableism shows up in daily life.
We trace Laszlo’s path from launching Friends With Wheels to writing Disabled and Proud, and hear how authenticity—over algorithms—shaped his creative voice. He breaks down the difference between support and spectacle, explains why “you’re an inspiration” can land as a burden, and shares candid stories about accommodations that exist on paper but fail in practice. From IEPs and speech-to-text to seating at a crowded restaurant, he shows how small design choices add up to either friction or freedom.
Laszlo also maps the power of community, highlighting the DO-IT Program at the University of Washington and the value of peer networks that turn isolation into belonging. We talk practical allyship—ask before helping, learn the language of disability justice, build feedback loops at school and work—and we look at simple tools that rebuild energy and confidence, like guided meditations and self-hypnosis apps. His view of resilience is refreshingly human: not a quick bounce-back, but a steady commitment to keep showing up, try new strategies, and trust yourself through the next curveball.
If you care about disability advocacy, accessibility, inclusive education, and mental health, this conversation offers clear steps and real stories you can act on today. Listen, reflect, and share this episode with someone who’s designing a space, leading a classroom, or rethinking how they offer help. If the show resonates, follow, rate, and leave a review—then tell us: what’s one accessibility change you’ll champion this week?
Listen to Friends with Wheels here! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/friends-with-wheels/id1623717823
Welcome back to the How We Can Heal podcast. Today our guest is Laszlo Jacksai. Laszlo is a Seattle-based journalist, podcast host, and disability rights advocate whose work brings honesty, clarity, and heart to conversations about disability and belonging. He's a University of Washington alum and host of the Friends with Wheels podcast, where he explores lived experience, community, and the realities of navigating the world as a disabled person. Laszlo is also the author of Disabled and Proud, a collection of short stories that draw from his own life experience. The book shares stories that reflect what it means to move through the world with cerebral palsy and other disabilities while holding on to dignity, humor, and self-respect. His work sits at the intersection of journalism, storytelling, and advocacy, inviting us to listen more closely and to question the assumptions we often carry about disability. Laszlo and I met when he invited me to be a guest on his podcast, and I'm so glad he did. Please join me in welcoming Laszlo Jacksai to the show. Welcome, Laszlo, to the How We Can Heal podcast. I'm so excited to have you here today.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, thanks so much.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and thanks for having me as a guest on your podcast. I realized that our podcasts are about the same age. They both came out in 2022, 2022?
SPEAKER_00:2022, yeah, it's hard to believe.
SPEAKER_01:It is, right? It's been a number of years already. How was your podcast born?
SPEAKER_00:My podcast was born, uh, you know, I was basically talking to a friend of mine, and I and I told her, like, um, her name is Anna Justin. So shout out Anna if you're listening to this. And so I she I I basically asked her, you know, like, you know, I'm doing this podcast, you know, what should I do? And she said, you should focus on a certain theme or certain topic and just stick to it. And so I came up with Friends with Wheels podcast. It's basically about disability-related topics, you know, about I talk about neuro uh neurodivergence, you know, like autism-related spectrum issues, but I've also expanded other topics as well, folks in the mental health field as well. That's why I included you on the podcast, which I had the pleasure of talking to. And so, yeah, it's been going great. Um, and I've had great guests ever since.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, you have a wide range, right? You're focusing on disability-specific issues, but yeah, mental health, physical health, well-being, personal stories, you've got all of it in there.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's a it's a wide tent. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's nice. Yeah, just like healing. Healing is a pretty wide tent, too. I like that about it. So, what are some of the challenges you've faced in your life? You shared that, you know, you're an open book, you've written a book, you're out there inspiring other people. What have what are some of the things that you've dealt with and overcome that have led to it?
SPEAKER_00:Well, some of the some of the things that I've dealt with and overcome are things like ableism and kind of like figuring out how the world, you know, is actually structured uh in a way that disadvantages people with disabilities. Because, for example, I've had I would be in a school, for example, and I wouldn't um I would need certain accommodations to be met in certain uh classes. Um, I would get speech to text, I would get extra time on assignments, um, you know, all the classic IEP meetings that people that parents have with other instructors. So it can be sort of a hectic um moment, I guess. But other than that, outside of the um educational settings, I guess um just kind of uh issues around, you know, like um like dating and sort of finding the the right person, I guess. Um those are some of the issues, kind of I think, um, that I struggle with and that I would like to work on.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you write about some of those in your book, Disabled and Proud. You have those kind of fictionalized stories of different people, and and you say that they're influenced by your experiences, right? But they're told through the eyes, through another lens, right? But it seems like you know, there's a lot of challenges you've faced, and some of that really roots in ableism, right? In the way that our culture is set up to accommodate uh certain types of bodies or ways of being, and and doesn't always look out for what everybody needs.
SPEAKER_00:You know, you know, have you ever heard of the book called Sitting Pretty by Rebecca Tausic? I haven't. It's basically a book where she talks about, you know, what you're talking about, the structures around education, the structures around, you know, like dating and relationships, the structures around, you know, other things, and she kind of puts it in a really remarkable context and kind of looks at ableism, looks at um how you know pe people with disabilities are addressed, um, sort of the inspiration talk that people say when referring to people with disabilities. So it's a really good um book to sort to sort of look into the different structures. It's an easily and digestible sort of book. And I recommend out there for those who want to read it, read it. It's called Sitting Pretty by Rebecca Talzik. It's a really great book.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and it's it's so helpful. It I think anyone who's dealing with something challenging and feels like the systems around are not set up to help. It's so helpful to align with someone who's doing that, right? Align with someone who's put out a book, who sees the dynamics, can label them, and also folks who are advocating, right? So that you don't feel like, oh, I'm in this alone. I I have to be the one to fight for my IEP every time it's not being honored. I mean, but you still end up having to do that in those moments, but you feel at least a sense of collaboration and and that somebody else is seeing and feeling and advocating for your well-being.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And actually, I told Rebecca Tausig this and I said, I connect with with each of the themes in your book because it's something like I've gone through. You talked about in her book how she was, she had um a she had she was permanently disabled because she was diagnosed with some form of cancer that was wheelchair bound. And so she talks about like growing up, you know, like what it was like being with their families, what it was like to go to school, what it was like to teach in a high school classroom, and how the students in the classroom ask certain questions of what it's meant to be disabled, how um the perceptions of it. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah. And without like, I'm not someone who ever wants to evoke people's most painful memories, but do you you've shared some of this in your book? I'm wondering if there's a theme for you in terms of like what is the most harmful when it comes to ableism or when it comes to having to advocate for yourself in those moments in education, those many moments where, you know, your needs have been explicitly stated. I used to work in education with young people. And it's like, if it's written in an IEP, it doesn't mean it's happening. Or like hopefully it means it should happen, it means it's meant to happen. But sometimes it doesn't happen. And then people have to rally or the person themselves has to say, hey, I need this. And that can get really tiring. So I'm wondering if there's anything that stands out to you today that you'd want to share with the audience that's like, you know, this aspect of the ableism is really hurtful for me, really hurtful for people.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I'll give you a couple examples. For example, um, one example of ableism that I've had to endure is sort of the inspiration talk that is addressed to disabled people. Oh, you're the other day a woman came up to me as I was doing exercises with my dad. I can't remember what machine it was, but she said, by the way, you're an inspiration. And like, because I'm like, what? What is she what is she saying? How am I an inspiration for her to do a workout? And so I talked with Rebecca Tausik about this a bit about the other day. She said, Why do I need to be someone else's inspiration for them to do something that that they clearly um don't like doing or don't want to do? It's just the language can be a little sort of controversial and people need to be more mindful of what they say and how they say it.
SPEAKER_01:Mm-hmm. And that's were there other examples you wanted to share?
SPEAKER_00:Another example would be where I was at a restaurant with my mother the other day. Cheesecake Factory, got good delicious food. Anyway, so we were going to the Cheesecake Factory. I remember it was my birthday, and and the host um sat us at a table that was like very, very narrow, so not big enough for my wheelchair. And so I'm like, like, why don't you guys have bigger tables for my wheelchair to fit under? And he said, Oh, it's for other guests. Um, I'm like, yeah, but the priority should be people for disabilities. And I just I get that every single time. Like, well, what why is it so hard to accommodate someone with a disability when you accommodate other people that don't have disabilities? That that it makes no sense to me.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah. And that's something you're gonna come across again and again, right? Yeah. It's like it I'd imagine that gets so tiring having to every time you go to a restaurant. Maybe sometimes people get it right, figure it out, or have accommodations, and but that should be the norm, right? That you don't have to fight to have what you need every time you're coming into a restaurant with your mom. We're trying to celebrate your birthday, right? It can be like a little hiccup or speed bump in the way.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:You talk about how people can be more mindful when interacting with a person who has a disability. Are these the kind of circumstances you're thinking of?
SPEAKER_00:I I'm sort of thinking about that. Just like if I could give like advice to those who want to be more mindful or interactive, I would say like just um like, for example, when asking for help, just like always ask for help first because people with disabilities might not need that help, or maybe say, it might not be proper if I ask this, but is it okay if I ask so that that you're not sort of um being too insensitive um or too improper? So just kind of know how you say it and just kind of uh be more mindful. Like I said, check out um Sitting Pretty by Rebecca Tasik. It's got some really good tips of ad and advice that she has um and talks about how she has had to dealt with those um struggles with like um education and sort of navigating her social life, I guess, at restaurants or whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I'm writing down sitting pretty at like maybe Rebecca would be a good guest to have on the show too.
SPEAKER_00:I I would recommend it, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. Thanks for that. So you kind of already gave an example of this. Maybe there's another one, but I think a lot of times people are trying to be helpful, but it comes across as as harmful. Um, can you think of other examples of when that happens or um like to share?
SPEAKER_00:I would I would say that um like like for example, um, you know how often I remember one time I was with my dad. We were we were at a transit center, and there was this group of of people, um, or or something like that. And they I think they saw me and my dad, and they walk up to me and they said, can we pray for you? And I'm like, he's like, no, it's it's so weird. Like it's kind of really odd. Like, why would why would you need to pray? It's like as it's like they see disability as sort of a disease or some sort of life-ending diagnosis, which it clearly is it. Cerebral palsy, it's permanent, and so it's something I've had to deal with my whole life. It's just so weird.
SPEAKER_01:Um yeah, so there's something about that that maybe feels intrusive, right? It's crossing a line, it's also making some assumptions as if you need this prayer for something, right? Like, what what do I need it for? Uh yeah, I can see how that would feel really uncomfortable, among other things. Yeah. So what inspired you to write your book, Disabled and Proud?
SPEAKER_00:Um, what inspired me to write this book is again my lived experiences with navigating, you know, the different circumstances around my life, whether it's, you know, going navigating the education system or navigating my social life. Um originally this was supposed to be a children's book. Okay. Fun fact. And uh it was supposed to be called James's Big Dream. And then so I remember, um there's a funny story about this. I so I so I um I I asked my dad to to see if he could read it over. He reads it over. He suddenly starts to tear up. Now, normally my dad isn't someone who is known for showing his emotions or isn't as emotionally sentimental. So he starts crying at my draft, and he said, Well, why are you crying? And so I thought it was because it was beautiful, it because it was really well written. It was actually terrible. Oh like like it was it was a it was a really confusing draft. Um things didn't make sense, things were out of order. It's it's probably my first time writing it, but if I was just writing is hard, yeah, you know, yeah I don't know, for me, for me it's a challenge to communicate things. So I mean you've written books, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Painful. Like I've run marathons too, and it's like hard, it hurts, you know. But I know people who write, like it just flows out of their brain, and they're just like, I could just sit and write all day. I'm like, I have to move in the morning and like commit to sitting down and come like get up in the middle and walk around while my ideas try to organize themselves and get to the point where you look at it and you're like, this doesn't even make any sense. Does this make any sense? Somebody read this. Does this make sense? So it sounds like you had that experience of of writing, pouring it out, right? You try to like, there's one step of like, okay, I have this inside me. I need to like try to get it out. And then you share it. So you give it to your dad, and he's crying, and you're thinking, Oh, it touched his heart. And then you feel like so so what happened there? Did he come back and tell you like you need to edit this, or what what was the that exchange like for you?
SPEAKER_00:He said, You need to edit it, this looks correlable. He didn't he didn't enjoy it. Like, but yeah, it was unexpected. Like I thought he was really emotional, but again, people have you know their own preferences for how they uh see things, but that's him.
SPEAKER_01:Uh so it was originally meant to be a children children's book. You wrote this draft, you shared it with your dad, and then what happened?
SPEAKER_00:And I wrote it and then and then I had to like re-edit um and sort of it became it became this sort of um sort of thing where I tried to write more and more, and that's how I came up with disabled and proud. Just talk about uh my own experiences and also writing a children's book is hard because children's books are so short, they're so um, they have to be easy for children to understand. And so I kind of just stuck and went with the disabled and proud version of it and telling my own story. So it's it's kind of a weird loop around, but yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I could see, having read it, I could see how you could take one of those stories and even boil that way down, simplify it, right? And then with the pictures that come with the children's book, you could make any one of those stories like a you know, children's book or what, 10, 20 pages. You could boil it down and have the photo of the pictures in the background. You could, you know, it could still happen if you wanted it to. I could see it. But yeah, I appreciate all the the different angles on challenges that folks with different disabilities in your book um meet with, right? And it's not always like I found the way through or I overcame it. Sometimes it's just a challenge, and then someone, you know, finds some support or, you know, yeah, finds a way to incorporate it into their life.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly. Incorporating into my life. Also, a thing about writing, I wrote it from my gut. I didn't like write like an outline, I didn't write anything down, I just wrote it from inside my gut. And oftentimes you have to trust your gut, and it's not always about quick thinking. So that's how I approached, you know, writing this book. Writing with my gut, writing with my instinct, telling my story, um, and just being authentic. I was talking to this influencer on the podcast earlier today, and she said, if the best thing you can do to write content is to write content that is both authentic and that shows your side of the story. Because oftentimes, you know, you see influencers online, and all they care about is their brand. How many likes, how many followers, how many Instagram mentions, but authenticity is key to everything. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Wholeheartedly agree. Yeah. What did you write the book for?
SPEAKER_00:I wrote the book for uh the people that want to know more about disability-related topics, that are curious about it, or just that want something to read. I feel like it would be sort of a good way to help them understand my life and my struggles and put it within the context of the characters in the book and see how that um how my how those experiences shape those characters in the book.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. How has your podcast shaped your experience? You just talked about the episode you were recording earlier today.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um, the podcast has is has become very sort of fulfilling and wonderful. Um, I've been able to interview guests from a variety of fields, and it's just really great to tell your own story and just putting your own voice out there to the content that you make. Um I don't care about the likes, I don't care about the followers, I don't care about the Instagram mentions. I just care about telling my own story and telling it authentically. That's what matters. And so that's why I wrote, that's why I did this podcast was to do exactly that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. To share what's true for you and to invite other people into that journey of growth. Yeah. That's beautiful. What are some of the things you'd like to see change systemically to support folks with disabilities?
SPEAKER_00:Um, what what I would like to see change to support folks with disabilities, it's sort of the make sure that structures are better supported for people with disabilities, whether that is, you know, accommodations, you know, like on the job, or whether that's accommodations in school, whether that is speech to text, uh, whether that is, you know, like Having a an ASL interpreter. Those kinds of things are what can help people with all sorts of disabilities, you know, lie thrive in various environments and can make their life a lot easier. And also just advocating for yourself. If you don't advocate for yourself, then things won't be done, things won't be met. And you know, you it'll be a tough time for you. So yeah.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So even systemically having avenues for for advocacy, right? Like a suggestion box or a feedback loop or a form or a question, how did that go for you? All of that can really go a long way in terms of people sharing their experience and improving people's experiences over time.
SPEAKER_00:You know, I was actually a part of a program called the Do It Program. It's called, it stands for the Disabilities Opportunities Internet Working Technology. And so what that program is, is it it helps people with disabilities, students with disabilities who want to go to college to figure out the resources they need to be successful in that environment. What accommodations do I need? How can I thrive in such a school pressure-based environment? And so that program really helped me understand how college was going to be like, what helps I needed, that kind of thing. And so you talked about connection. Um I'm recently a part of the Do It program's Do It Chat. So we basically talk with other Do It Scholars, former Do It Scholars, and so we talk about whatever topic we want to talk about, and we just kind of interact with each other, build that community, build that sense of belonging to make sure that A, you're not alone, and B that you have people that have your back.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's so valuable. And what would you tell someone who's listening who is feeling alone or disconnected?
SPEAKER_00:Uh what would I tell someone? I would tell that person to uh tell them to not be alone, to to say that you're your own advocate. You can advocate for your own things. It's just a matter of doing it and that you have a support system behind you that will help you achieve those goals, whether that's a parent, whether that is a teacher, whether that is a a social worker, whether that is anyone that is connected to uh you in your life, um, reach out to that person because you never know when you might need them.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, sometimes it's a matter of reaching out before just consistently, or or sometimes in the moment where we feel the most alone, it's the reaching that's hard, right? So just you're just encouraging folks to actually lean in the direction of someone they can trust just enough to to give them some support.
SPEAKER_00:Right.
SPEAKER_01:And can you say the name of the organization again? Because specifically for folks working with disabilities or in you know, in and around the college era, what what's the name of it?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's called Do It. It stands for Disabilities Opportunities Internet Working Technology. It's part of the University of Washington, my alma mater, Go Huskies. Yes. Um, and so yeah, for those who want to seek more information, um I can you can visit www.doit.org.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I can put the link in the show notes too. Yeah. And what does resilience mean to you?
SPEAKER_00:Resilience means not giving up. Resilience means, you know, just trying back harder from what you've done in the past and making it better. Resilience means, you know, just again, not giving up and doing things better, you know, trying new things, adapting new things. Um just just being keeping your head up and just try the next thing and just adjusting to whatever life throws at you. Like you never know what curve balls uh life brings. You just have to learn who to adapt and adjust to, you know, everything, I guess.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So any human, whether working with a specific disability or or not, when things are challenging, I really appreciate what you're saying about resilience, not just being bouncing back, right? I think that's like a really common people think, oh, you just have resilience or you don't. It's just you naturally bounce back or you don't. And what you're saying is it's actually more of a commitment to yourself to continue to show up. And, you know, when there are things that are challenging, I mean, of course, my therapist self is like, honor the feelings, yes. And like step, continue to get creative and try and see how you can show up or what support you can get or how you can move things forward if it's in a direction that's really important to you, right? Just not um not giving up on something that feels really important or central.
SPEAKER_00:Right, exactly. Yeah. Just just staying committed, staying focused, and then staying staying the keeping your head up.
SPEAKER_01:Mm-hmm. Anything else you'd share if there's someone listening who's just like not feeling super resilient today, they're like, uh, I've just been trying and I keep getting up and I keep getting knocked down or this thing keeps happening. It's so hard.
SPEAKER_00:What well um, you know, like just probably if if I could give advice, just probably like listen to um whatever sort of meditation or sort of motivational um uh videos or whatever, just to kind of get your spirit up, uh to make sure that you're not hopeless, you're not you're not sort of bringing yourself down, you're not um saying, oh, this is this is never gonna work. Um just yeah, just kind of finding ways to build your sense of well-being, self-confidence up, and you know, just trusting yourself. Because if you don't trust yourself, then then then what's the point?
SPEAKER_01:Mm-hmm. Yeah, and it's so helpful sometimes to just find a meditation or a visualization or something. I I go to like a my self-hypnosis app or just pull something up that will hold it and guide you through, right? And even when we aren't ready to lean on that parent or friend or social worker, you know, we have that's one of the wonderful things about the internet and our cell phones is we can have an app or we can have a video or a recording or even a live meditation that we attend that can actually fuel us in more of a spiritual way, right? Like some kind of practice that recenters our energy, reconnects us to a sense of self-worth and guides us through those moments. So we don't just have to try to bounce back. We can actually have that moment of of nourishment.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly. I've never used a a like calm, a sort of app that calm that calms the nervous system or calms the senses, but I've heard some things, uh some apps online, like I think there's one called Calm, where it's sort of a deep sort of relaxation guided meditation effort. I know there's a lot of YouTube videos out there that talk about that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. And I know calm, insight timer, reverie for self-hypnosis. There's a ton of options out there, right? So it's just finding one thing, right? That's all we need to do in that moment. That one thing. Just find one thing that's gonna get you, you know, connected to yourself is part of what I hear you saying too, right? Connected to a sense of of worth or um of energy, or you know, it might be something even a little more spiritual than just like practical or cognitive.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So another question I have for you is just how you feel like non-disabled people can support people in being disabled and proud. Like what can non-disabled folks do, not just in interactions like we talked about before, but at large in the world.
SPEAKER_00:Uh just for the non-disabled folks, just you know, educate yourself, learn about the different terminology, learn about ableism, learn about sort sorts of the sorts of terminologies or circumstances that affect people with disabilities, and just whether it's going through a webinar, going through, you know, finding stuff on YouTube, or you know, going to um a a networking opportunity for neurodivergent folks, just educating yourself and sort of understanding, you know, the dynamics around, you know, education, around the social life and that kind of stuff, just to become more aware of what it's like to you know, for disabled folks to feel a certain way, because oftentimes we get in our own head of like um saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing that initially can be seen as helpful, but is actually meant to hurt. So, because we don't want to get into that ableist sort of framework thinking um of like, did I say or do something that was appropriate that they thought was inappropriate? Um, so just yeah, kind of educating yourself and sort of asking questions. Always ask questions and always sort of um say, is this okay? Is this great? Um, am I saying this right? You know, what do I need to learn about neurodiverse folks? What do I need to learn about uh people with cerebral palsy, that kind of thing?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. It makes me think about there's so many things we don't learn in standard education. If you could add anything to like an elementary school curriculum, middle school, high school curriculum about ableism or disability, what would you want to see there?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, if I could um like add something about like curriculum, I would say something tailored around um accommodations in the education, in the education aspect of things, you know, finding out what are some resources for folks that are neurodivergent, folks that, you know, that are kind of have some sort of speech issues, um uh physical disabilities, that kind of thing. There's many out there, but uh just kind of tailor tailor those things to the person's needs. And yeah, just always ask questions and figure out what works best for each person with a disability, because not everybody um has certain things that work for every everyone else. Each person is different, and so they need to be tailored to their needs, I guess.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, the curiosity, always ask questions. I also hear in what you've been describing today, empathy, right? Just like being open to well, who is this other person and what what's up for them right now, right? Like like I'm thinking of it as attuned empathy in the moment, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's having that sort of empathy, you know, being aware of like being there for them and being resilient for, you know, the pe people with um being there for people who are struggling, people who are going through some bad moments and bad times in their life, and just kind of have that um, at least for me, you know, being empathetic is something that's sort of natural, it's sort of um wrought about in in my own life. I've always learned to be more empathetic with others and be more kind to others, and to sort of have that sense of like, hey, I'm here for you. I'm I'm I get what you're going through.
SPEAKER_01:So what's coming next for you? Any speaking engagements, new books for you?
SPEAKER_00:Well, what's coming next for me? I'm in the process of writing in a book. Um it's it's totally different from Disabled and Proud. It's um something, you know, very different. I've always wanted to go into the novel base um aspect of it. Um just kind of a different format, a different feel for it, a different flavor to it. But yeah, writing books to me, it's it's a new avenue that I've learned. And so um I wanted to explore that further and you know write write more, keep keep keep writing content, producing ideas.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, that's awesome. Looking forward to it. Do you know when the new book will be available?
SPEAKER_00:Uh I'm in the process of writing it, but it's like an 11-chapter book, but um it's in the works.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, yeah, TBD.
SPEAKER_00:TBD, exactly.
SPEAKER_01:And where's the best place for people to connect with you? They can obviously get your book disabled and proud.
SPEAKER_00:They can listen to your it's on Amazon. Yeah, they can connect with me on my Instagram at Jacksy123. Um, they can also connect with me on uh LinkedIn, so all the socials.
SPEAKER_01:All the socials. Okay, yeah, nice. And they can listen to your podcast, Friends with Wheels.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, available on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. Nice, nice.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I saw it on Apple too, right? It's everywhere.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's everywhere.
SPEAKER_01:It's everywhere. Perfect. And what brings you hope in this crazy world we live in together?
SPEAKER_00:Well, in this crazy world, what gives me hope is just, you know, staying staying positive with myself, staying attuned to, you know, what what I want to um achieve and accomplish, and just, you know, staying in the moment of like taking one thing at a time. Oftentimes we get so caught up of like there's all sorts of news that is happening that we get all sort of revved up, but just taking one thing at a time, just uh trusting yourself, you know, uh loving yourself, being happy with yourself, that kind of thing.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, a lot of wisdom in that. Is there anything I haven't asked about today that you can talk about?
SPEAKER_00:No, you pretty much covered it.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show, Laszla.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks so much. Thanks for the opportunity.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. You made it to the end of the episode. Thanks for listening all the way through. Now that you've been listening for a while, I'd love to hear back from you. What's an idea or a story from this episode that sticks with you as we wrap up? Or what's one small thing you can do today to choose a step in the direction of healing or growth? Share your answers and what's been healing for you in the comments below on YouTube, on Instagram at how we can heal, or send me a message at info at howwecanheal.com. Also check out howwecanheal.com for free resources, trainings, and the full transcript of each show. If you're listening and loving the show, please leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, Audible, or wherever you're listening right now. If you're watching on YouTube, click the buttons to like and subscribe, and keep sharing the show with anyone it could benefit. Before we wrap today, I want to be clear that this podcast isn't offering prescriptions, it's not advice, nor is it any kind of mental health treatment or diagnosis. Your decisions are in your hands, and I encourage you to consult with any healthcare professionals you may need to support you through your unique path of healing. In addition, everyone's opinion here is their own, and opinions can change. Guests share their thoughts, not that of the host or sponsors. I'd like to thank our guests today again, and everyone who helped support this podcast directly and indirectly. Alex, thanks for taking care of the babe and the fur babes while I record. Last and never least, I'd like to send some love to my big brother Matt, who passed away in 2002. He wrote this music, and it makes my heart feel very happy to share it with you. Until next time.