Joy and Jenelle explore how comparison shapes identity, self-worth, and belonging, especially through the lens of growing up as twins and living with vision loss. They move from childhood memories and a Health Chicago billboard campaign into a broader conversation about how comparison can wound, motivate, or reveal what we value in this episode, Joy and Jenelle talk openly about the ways comparison shows up in families, disability communities, work, creativity, and everyday life. They also reflect on how curiosity, timing, and values can turn comparison into something more useful than self-criticism.Key TopicsJoy and Jenelle revisit their brief childhood modeling career for Health Chicago, including the “they like the same boys, they like the same clothes, they like the same food, but they need different doctors” ad.Why twins are so often compared, and how people tend to force them into binaries like “the funny one,” “the smart one,” or “the pretty one.”The familiar phrase “comparison is the thief of joy,” and whether comparison is always harmful or can sometimes be neutral or even helpful.How comparison can point toward values, like humor, writing, creativity, stability, or stamina, instead of just triggering shame.Why scarcity thinking often appears in disability communities, especially when people see others succeeding and assume there is not enough possibility to go around.The “flower” metaphor: tulips, hibiscus, and sunflowers each bloom in their own way and timing, which mirrors how people develop differently.The pressure toward exceptionalism in disability culture, including the feeling that blind people have to be “more than” everyone else just to be valued.How comparison can become a tool for growth when it is paired with pausing, naming the real desire underneath, and asking what is actually being admired.Practical examples from home decorating and creative work, where admiration turned into comparison until values were clarified.Joy’s meeting with Marianne Williamson, who said that no person is more or less important than another, a moment Joy connects to belonging and self-worth.
Joy and Jenelle explore disability joy... the practice of noticing and naming joyful moments that emerge specifically from the disability experience. Sparked by their earlier conversation with Lachi, they dig into a working definition (identity, community, self-acceptance, and self-advocacy) and share personal stories: a sourdough baking day turned into an unexpected bonding moment, a talking birthday card that restored a lost ritual, a bedazzled cane and a walk with a daughter, and finding the words to redirect a well-meaning stranger's help. They also talk about the difference between joy as a fleeting state and joy as a trait you can build over time, and why naming pain matters just as much as naming joy.Connect With Us:Leave a voice message: 949-414-8336Email: mail@doublevisionblog.comRelated Episode: Ep. 18: Celebrating Disability Pride Month with Lachi
Joy and Jenelle revisit a blog post they co-wrote about ten years ago: "8 Things We Wish People Would Know About Losing Vision from a Degenerative Eye Condition." The post gained nearly 7,500 views at the time, resonating with family members, friends, and the guide dog puppy-raising community who wanted a better understanding of what vision loss is really like.A decade later, and with both sisters having lost significantly more vision over the past two years, they go through each point together. Jenelle, who works as a psychotherapist supporting clients adjusting to degenerative eye conditions, brings a clinical lens. Joy brings the lived, day-to-day experience. Together they talk about what still holds true, what has shifted, and what they'd add now.Read the blogpost "8 Things I Wish People Knew About Going Blind from a Degenerative Eye Condition"Get in TouchHave thoughts on this episode, or something you feel they missed? Joy and Jenelle want to hear from you.Email: mail@doublevisionblog.comVoicemail: 949-414-8336
Guest host Adam Mock joins Joy Thomas and Jenelle Landgraf for a special 15th anniversary celebration of DoubleVision, the blog they started in 2011 while learning to navigate life with Retinitis Pigmentosa.Together, they reflect on what they thought DoubleVisionBlog might become, what it actually led to, and the unexpected ways fifteen years of storytelling shaped not only their own lives, but the lives of thousands of readers.From favorite blog posts and behind-the-scenes writing stories to surprising analytics, lessons learned from one another, and wisdom rediscovered in essays written nearly fifteen years ago, this conversation is both a celebration and a reflection on a journey that is still unfolding.Posts referenced in this episode:"Eight Things I Wish People Knew About Going Blind from a Degenerative Eye Condition""An Open Letter to…""Grief Gone Wild""Reclaiming Our Lives""Midwinter Break: Musings on Badassery, Vulnerability, and Strength""Why We Hide"Want more? Browse our full library of 327 blog posts spanning over a decade of stories on vision loss, resilience, and everything in between.Special thanks to our dear friend, Adam Mock, for his skillful and human hosting of this special episode. For more info about Adam's work as a Leadership Coaching Specialist and author of "Rescue Your Dreams: A Guidebook to Save the Life You Forgot You Wanted", visit adammock.com.
In honor of Disability Pride Month, Joy and Jenelle welcome Lachi, 2024 USA Today Woman of the Year, award-winning recording artist, Recording Academy National Trustee, CEO of RAMPD, and author of I Identify as Blind.This is a conversation that challenged the way Joy and Jenelle think about disability. Days after recording, they were still processing Lachi’s invitation to consider disability joy.One story Lachi shares from speaking to a room full of disability advocates sparked both internal and external conversations long after the recording ended. In the days that followed, Joy and Jenelle found themselves rethinking daily experiences through the lens of disability joy and even began planning a future episode dedicated to sharing those examples.Lachi invites listeners to rethink disability, not simply as something to accommodate or overcome, but as a culture, an identity, and even a source of joy. She also challenges listeners to explore their own disability identity, arguing that disability is a far broader umbrella than most people realize.Along the way, Lachi breaks down the different ways society understands disability through funny, memorable, and surprisingly easy-to-understand examples, shares her journey from masking her blindness to embracing it publicly, and explains why confidence can transform the way the world responds to disability.Whether you already consider yourself part of the disability community or not, this conversation invites you to explore your own disability identity, rethink what disability pride can mean, and consider where joy fits within your story.In this episode:What disability joy really means and why Lachi calls it an act of resistanceWhy Lachi believes disability is a much broader umbrella than many people realizeA funny, easy-to-understand framework for understanding disabilityHow masking, identity, and self-acceptance shaped Lachi’s journeyWhy community is often the first step toward disability pride and disability joyResources for continuing to learn about disability cultureResources mentioned:I Identify as Blind by LachiRAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities)Glam CanesMagnificent, Lachi’s children’s albumBeing Human by Judy HeumannThe Anti-Ableist Manifesto by Tiffany Yu