“In skiing, I found the sport in which my wishes for speed, agility, and grace were fulfilled. I was taught a distinctive skiing style: The foot was “educated” to steer the ski in a specific way; I learned to anticipate each turn and adjust my body, skis, and outriggers accordingly, producing a fluid, graceful motion.”
Emily Rapp effectively uses one of the most common points of view used when writing memoir (she uses the first person point of view). Not only is Rapp able to convey her own personal thoughts and feelings to the reader, but she is able to convey her experience in a way that is relatable to the reader, even though they themselves may not necessarily have the same disability she has. While reading Poster Child, I found it interesting how although Rapp’s literary point of view did not change, her point of view of her physical image (her disability) changed throughout the novel. For example, at the beginning of the memoir, Rapp sees her leg as more or less a nuisance that brought her much unwanted attention from others who didn’t understand her situation. However, as Rapp got older, she started ever so slowly embracing her disability (e.g., talking with the war vets in the waiting room of her prosthetist, participating in the Winter Park Handicapped Ski Program, etc.), even though she continued to worry obsessively about her looks and how other people perceived her.