The life-partner authors of this slim volume, Myroslaw Tataryn and Maria Truchan-Tataryn, are extraordinarily qualified to develop this theology of disability. Parents of developmentally and physically disabled daughters, they integrate their lived experience with their combined scholarly expertise in theology and disability studies, and also make use of their pastoral experience, as Myroslaw is a priest in the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada.

After sketching the social model of disability, the authors present resources in Christian tradition for countering the cultural oppression and stigmatization that social analysis reveals. The authors turn to the Hebrew scriptures, models of Jesus' life, the early church, and patristic texts in order to develop an incarnational and Trinitarian (relational) understanding of community that is opposed to Western cultural oppression of those living outside societal norms of success. The authors conclude that “living Trinity, living diversity, living connectedness with humanity is life's fullness” (123); this communal vision is the responsibility of believers to enact so that no one is left out.

The strongest theoretical sections of the book are those places where the authors take an insight from disability theory and connect it to theological argument. For example, a brief section on liminality in chapter 3 is richly provocative, and in chapter 7, “Interdependent Living: Models of Christian Community,” disability theory sparks theological distinctions between contemporary understandings and practices of charity, which often present “the guise of altruism to selfish gains” (76), in contrast to genuine caritas. Chapter 11, “Transfiguring Corporeality: Being Icons,” uses the ancient practice of iconography to argue for Christian valuing of embodiment, asserting that “the association of disability with defect and sin cannot be supported in Eastern Christian theology” (114). A particularly compelling feature of the book is the use of personal examples in several chapters. In addition, the first ten chapters end with a brief stand-alone text box of compelling personal, parental reflections.

The limitations of this study are a consequence of its brevity. Despite engaging some feminist disability theorists, and despite the pronounced opportunities for connecting with relational theory and the value of embodiment that is so rich in feminist Christian thought, the authors do not seek out any of the many possible resources in this vein. In the authors' view, the “Church is the first sacrament,” while “the world is sacramental” (85), not a sacrament itself. Thus their creation theology does not engage in dialogue with panentheistic or process perspectives, despite treating themes deeply resonant with all these theological discussions.

Although the text recognizes limitations in the Christian heritage and contemporary community, both in the authors' personal experiences and in theological analysis, there are arguable church/world distinctions and assumptions throughout. For example, though recognizing “the horrendous social experiments in the name of Christ” perpetrated on First Nations peoples, the authors quickly conclude that “what purported to be ‘Christian’ education was in fact an imposition of white European values” (119), as if there is a clear distinction for which Christianity is not ultimately accountable. Critique treats fault as cultural infection. At the same time, the insight and contributions of nonreligious disability theory and secular societal examples are not fully acknowledged as resources from which Christian tradition needs to learn.

However, the short length and introductory nature of this book are also strengths, especially when combined with its accessible readability, the personal nature of the authors' commitment, and the overview of many possible theological resources, particularly in Eastern patristic tradition. All of these, plus the low cost, would make this book very useful as an ancillary text for an undergraduate theological course introducing concerns for disability and the implications for developing a Trinitarian understanding of community.