Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this episode of What It's Really Like, I sit down with disability advocate, entrepreneur, and author Tiffany Yu for an honest conversation about identity, belonging, and creating change.
Tiffany shares how growing up as an Asian American woman shaped her experience with disability, the challenges of navigating multiple identities, and the journey from self-acceptance to empowering others. We discuss the importance of community, representation, disability pride, and the lessons behind her groundbreaking book, The Anti-Ableist Manifesto. Along the way, Tiffany opens up about her personal story, advocacy work, and what it really takes to build a more inclusive world.
Whether you're disabled, an ally, or simply curious about how identity shapes our experiences, this conversation offers valuable insights, practical takeaways, and plenty of inspiration.
Follow Tiffany:
Instagram: instagram.com/imtiffanyyu
TikTok: tiktok.com/@imtiffanyyu
YouTube: @imtiffanyyu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tiffanyayu
Website: tiffanyyu.com
And if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who would love the conversation 💚
Chapters:
00:00 Cold Open: Grief, Disability & Hidden Truths
01:05 Welcome to *What It’s Really Like*
01:23 Who Is Tiffany Yu?
02:39 The Accident That Changed Tiffany’s Life
05:11 What Tiffany Remembers From the Crash
09:07 Medical Trauma, Childhood Memories & Agency
10:00 Why Tiffany’s Family Hid Her Father’s Death
12:30 Reconnecting With Her 9-Year-Old Self
15:00 Family Healing, Immigrant Parents & Messy Grief
18:00 Advocacy as a Part of Healing
19:17 Learning About Her Injury in the Hospital
22:21 IEPs, School Support & What Tiffany Didn’t Receive
24:00 Molly’s Experience With School Accommodations
27:31 Giving Disabled Kids Agency
30:00 Meeting Someone With the Same Disability
32:30 Feeling Different Even in Disability Community
35:00 Being Hope for Newly Disabled People
38:10 From Hiding Disability to Writing *The Anti-Ableist Manifesto*
40:16 Disability Pride, Asian Identity & Belonging
42:39 Starting Diversability in College
45:00 Why “Diversability” Is a Name, Not a Euphemism
47:15 Medical Model, Charity Model & Disability Tragedy
50:20 Finding Community and Owning Disability Pride
52:33 Medical Model vs. Social Model
55:00 Wanting a Cure, Changing Your Mind & Learning Out Loud
59:34 Goldman Sachs, Corporate Life & Disability Identity
1:03:48 “I Don’t See Your Disability” and Other Microaggressions
1:07:38 Everyday Self-Advocacy, Steak & Asking for Access
1:10:24 Writing a Book With Speech-to-Text
1:12:30 Accessibility, Opting Out & the Burden of Other People’s Comfort
1:15:24 Getting Fired & Pivoting From Corporate America to Advocacy
1:18:00 Rebuilding Diversability as a Young Professionals Community
1:21:08 Building a Portfolio Career
1:22:35 How *The Anti-Ableist Manifesto* Began
1:25:30 Writing a Book Rooted in Community
1:27:40 Releasing a Disability Book During the Death of DEI
1:30:30 Book Launch Pressure, Silence & Trusting the Timing
1:33:01 AI as an Accessibility Tool
1:35:30 Why AI Needs Disabled People in the Room
1:38:00 Losing Opportunities by Standing Behind Your Values
1:39:02 Reinvesting the Book Advance Into Disabled Community
1:41:59 The Real-World Impact of Tiffany’s TEDx Talk
1:45:00 Molly’s Children’s Book & Giving Back to MIRA
1:45:45 The Awkward Question
1:46:32 “Blind Leading the Blind” & Disability Language
1:48:00 Does Policing Language Help or Hurt?
1:50:00 Reclaiming Harmful Phrases
1:52:30 Why Language Still Matters
1:55:00 Blindness, Deafness & Common Phrases
1:57:16 Visual Descriptions and When They’re Actually Useful
2:00:00 Why Disabled People Don’t Have to Agree
2:01:13 Who Tiffany Is Today
2:02:32 Where to Find Tiffany & *The Anti-Ableist Manifesto*
2:03:00 Closing
📚 ORDER MY MEMOIR: UNSEEN: How I Lost My Vision but Found My Voice — available now! Tap the link in bio to get your copy.
🐾 Support My GoFundMe for The Mira Foundation (guide dogs for the blind): gofund.me/5d8fc57f
🛍 Shop My Amazon Favorites: amazon.com/shop/mollyburke
(Find my go-to vision boarding book, motivational stickers, and more in the Health & Wellness section!)
🐝 Join the Killer Bee Club on Patreon: patreon.com/mollyburke
🎧 Listen to my audiobook “It’s Not What It Looks Like” on Audible: audible.com/mollyburke
📲 FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram: @mollyburkeofficial
TikTok: @mollyburkeofficial
Twitter: @mollybofficial
Facebook: Molly Burke Official
🌐 Learn more about me: mollyburkeofficial.com
In this episode of What It's Really Like, I sit down with disability advocate, entrepreneur, and author Tiffany Yu for an honest conversation about identity, belonging, and creating change.
Tiffany shares how growing up as an Asian American woman shaped her experience with disability, the challenges of navigating multiple identities, and the journey from self-acceptance to empowering others. We discuss the importance of community, representation, disability pride, and the lessons behind her groundbreaking book, The Anti-Ableist Manifesto. Along the way, Tiffany opens up about her personal story, advocacy work, and what it really takes to build a more inclusive world.
Whether you're disabled, an ally, or simply curious about how identity shapes our experiences, this conversation offers valuable insights, practical takeaways, and plenty of inspiration.
Follow Tiffany:
Instagram: instagram.com/imtiffanyyu
TikTok: tiktok.com/@imtiffanyyu
YouTube: @imtiffanyyu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tiffanyayu
Website: tiffanyyu.com
And if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who would love the conversation 💚
Chapters:
00:00 Cold Open: Grief, Disability & Hidden Truths
01:05 Welcome to *What It’s Really Like*
01:23 Who Is Tiffany Yu?
02:39 The Accident That Changed Tiffany’s Life
05:11 What Tiffany Remembers From the Crash
09:07 Medical Trauma, Childhood Memories & Agency
10:00 Why Tiffany’s Family Hid Her Father’s Death
12:30 Reconnecting With Her 9-Year-Old Self
15:00 Family Healing, Immigrant Parents & Messy Grief
18:00 Advocacy as a Part of Healing
19:17 Learning About Her Injury in the Hospital
22:21 IEPs, School Support & What Tiffany Didn’t Receive
24:00 Molly’s Experience With School Accommodations
27:31 Giving Disabled Kids Agency
30:00 Meeting Someone With the Same Disability
32:30 Feeling Different Even in Disability Community
35:00 Being Hope for Newly Disabled People
38:10 From Hiding Disability to Writing *The Anti-Ableist Manifesto*
40:16 Disability Pride, Asian Identity & Belonging
42:39 Starting Diversability in College
45:00 Why “Diversability” Is a Name, Not a Euphemism
47:15 Medical Model, Charity Model & Disability Tragedy
50:20 Finding Community and Owning Disability Pride
52:33 Medical Model vs. Social Model
55:00 Wanting a Cure, Changing Your Mind & Learning Out Loud
59:34 Goldman Sachs, Corporate Life & Disability Identity
1:03:48 “I Don’t See Your Disability” and Other Microaggressions
1:07:38 Everyday Self-Advocacy, Steak & Asking for Access
1:10:24 Writing a Book With Speech-to-Text
1:12:30 Accessibility, Opting Out & the Burden of Other People’s Comfort
1:15:24 Getting Fired & Pivoting From Corporate America to Advocacy
1:18:00 Rebuilding Diversability as a Young Professionals Community
1:21:08 Building a Portfolio Career
1:22:35 How *The Anti-Ableist Manifesto* Began
1:25:30 Writing a Book Rooted in Community
1:27:40 Releasing a Disability Book During the Death of DEI
1:30:30 Book Launch Pressure, Silence & Trusting the Timing
1:33:01 AI as an Accessibility Tool
1:35:30 Why AI Needs Disabled People in the Room
1:38:00 Losing Opportunities by Standing Behind Your Values
1:39:02 Reinvesting the Book Advance Into Disabled Community
1:41:59 The Real-World Impact of Tiffany’s TEDx Talk
1:45:00 Molly’s Children’s Book & Giving Back to MIRA
1:45:45 The Awkward Question
1:46:32 “Blind Leading the Blind” & Disability Language
1:48:00 Does Policing Language Help or Hurt?
1:50:00 Reclaiming Harmful Phrases
1:52:30 Why Language Still Matters
1:55:00 Blindness, Deafness & Common Phrases
1:57:16 Visual Descriptions and When They’re Actually Useful
2:00:00 Why Disabled People Don’t Have to Agree
2:01:13 Who Tiffany Is Today
2:02:32 Where to Find Tiffany & *The Anti-Ableist Manifesto*
2:03:00 Closing
📚 ORDER MY MEMOIR: UNSEEN: How I Lost My Vision but Found My Voice — available now! Tap the link in bio to get your copy.
🐾 Support My GoFundMe for The Mira Foundation (guide dogs for the blind): gofund.me/5d8fc57f
🛍 Shop My Amazon Favorites: amazon.com/shop/mollyburke
(Find my go-to vision boarding book, motivational stickers, and more in the Health & Wellness section!)
🐝 Join the Killer Bee Club on Patreon: patreon.com/mollyburke
🎧 Listen to my audiobook “It’s Not What It Looks Like” on Audible: audible.com/mollyburke
📲 FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram: @mollyburkeofficial
TikTok: @mollyburkeofficial
Twitter: @mollybofficial
Facebook: Molly Burke Official
🌐 Learn more about me: mollyburkeofficial.com
