It’s not a question of ableism, or at least not solely of ableism, but of a complex and very difficult situation without easy answers. Many people on the ship see that Denise is helpful and resourceful, but anyone with a family on the waiting list understandably is looking for the survival of their family first. It’s just that space really is limited, and there is already an enormous waiting list largely composed of the families of people who are already aboard. There are other disabled people on the ship, including a wheelchair user (though this is only briefly mentioned) and an older autistic woman who serves as the ship’s doctor. A few people, realistically, are, but by and large the people on the generation ship are good people trying to protect each other in a bad situation. It’s not really a question of anyone being overtly prejudiced against autism. One might be forgiven, given the premise, for anticipating a story all about an autistic person struggling to prove her worth to murderously ableist masters who think that no autistic people should be allowed to survive.įortunately-while Denise does, realistically, struggle to prove herself-Duyvis’s book is actually much more complex than this. The consequences of this system for disabled people are usually not spelled out, but the implications are ominous. Everything is terrible resources and safe space are extremely limited therefore, to be allowed in the safe space, one must “pull one’s weight” and be judged worthy. The book touches on some very common apocalypse and post-apocalypse tropes, which many of us have seen in stories before. The ship’s crew warn them that they will have to leave again after the impact is over – but Denise sees the generation ship as her best hope of survival, and is determined to find a permanent place on board. A chance encounter leads the two of them to find shelter, instead, on a generation ship that hasn’t left yet. Those who failed to find a place through skills or through a lottery have only temporary shelters for the impact itself, and will subsequently need to fend for themselves in a disaster-stricken world.ĭenise, a teenage autistic girl in the Netherlands, can’t get to her temporary shelter in time due to her mother’s waffling. A comet is about to hit the earth, and while some people have found places in permanent shelters or on generation ships leaving the planet, there isn’t room for everyone. On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis tells the story of a girl trying to survive an apocalypse.
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