Sep 12, 2015 09:12 AM

Life According to Luoluo

Luoluo became permanently handicapped after receiving an expired polio vaccine as a young girl. On the streets of Beijing, crowds gather around her to purchase copies of her self-published memoir / Photos by Christine Schindler

On Beijing's Nanluoguxiang Hutong, where tourists come to window shop, take selfies and graze on the latest celebrity-endorsed snacks, sits Luoluo. In front of her is a bold red sign which states, "Books that I Wrote" and three neat stacks of books: her memoir, Wings of the Heart (2006), and short prose collections You Hear Me Sing (2011) and Feeling Warm at This Second (2011). Some passersby stare or steal a glance, a few stop to ask "Where do you live? Do you live with your parents? Which book should I buy?" Yet most ignore or do not notice her.