What is life really like when two wheelchair users get married? Alycia and Marty Anderson answer the questions people actually ask about disabled relationships, accessible travel, independence, intimacy, accessibility and marriage. After nearly 15 years together, they are challenging assumptions, sharing a few hilarious accessibility stories and proving that underneath the wheelchairs, marriage is still marriage: partnership, compromise, problem solving, laughter and a whole lot of love.
In Episode 156 of Pushing Forward with Alycia, Alycia and Marty Anderson lighten things up with a candid Q&A about life as a married wheelchair-using couple. They discuss accessible travel, transportation barriers, independence, asking for help, marriage, intimacy and the assumptions people make about disabled relationships while sharing the humor, frustration and creative problem solving that come with navigating a world not always designed for two wheelchair users.
Alycia and Marty Anderson share an intimate update after months of medical challenges and unexpected hospitalizations. Together, the married wheelchair users explore aging with disability, caregiving, changing independence, entrepreneurship, love and the emotional difficulty of slowing down. From adapting transfers to accepting help and releasing control, their conversation reveals how disability continually asks us to adapt and why sometimes pushing forward means giving yourself permission to rest.
Read the Episode 155 transcript as Alycia and Marty Anderson discuss Alycia’s recent medical journey, aging with disability and caregiving within their marriage. The couple shares how two wheelchair users adapt when one partner temporarily needs greater support, while navigating hospitalizations, entrepreneurship, changing independence and emotional exhaustion. Their deeply personal conversation explores resilience, vulnerability, disability, love and the realization that being strong does not mean doing everything alone.
Accessible travel should feel like freedom, not a fight for basic access. In Episode 154, Alycia Anderson talks with luxury travel advisor and wheelchair user Karen Morales about transforming hospitality through lived experience. Karen shares lessons from Japan, Sicily, Morocco, Costa Rica, and Canada, explains how Fora’s accessibility initiative generated $75 million in sales, and shows why thoughtful planning can turn once impossible trips into unforgettable adventures for disabled travelers.
Karen Morales joins Alycia Anderson for a wide ranging conversation about accessible travel, luxury hospitality, disability, and freedom. Read the Episode 154 transcript to hear Karen’s experiences traveling as a wheelchair user, her journey with limb girdle muscular dystrophy, the growth of Fora Travel’s accessibility initiative, and unforgettable stories from hotels and destinations around the world that prove thoughtful access can create extraordinary travel experiences for disabled people and families.
Cynthia Bauer, US CEO and cofounder of Kupenda for the Children, joins Alycia Anderson to discuss transforming global disability stigma into dignity, advocacy, and inclusion. Cynthia shares how studying wildlife biology in Kenya changed her life, why societal perceptions often create the greatest barriers, and how community led workshops are helping thousands of families and local leaders ensure children with disabilities receive education, healthcare, opportunity, love, and belonging.
Read the complete transcript of Alycia Anderson’s conversation with Cynthia Bauer, US CEO and cofounder of Kupenda for the Children. Cynthia discusses growing up without her left hand, studying wildlife biology in Kenya, confronting harmful disability beliefs, and building a community led advocacy movement. The conversation explores faith healing, inclusive education, representation, philanthropy, societal barriers, local leadership, and the power of using lived experience to improve other people’s lives.
Global speaker, bestselling author, and disability advocate Spencer West joins Alycia Anderson to discuss autonomy, internalized ableism, interdependence, and breaking free from society’s expectations. Spencer shares the real lesson behind climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, why disabled people deserve control over how they navigate the world, and how his new book, Breaking Free, helps readers question inherited expectations and begin choosing a more authentic, joyful, and self directed life.
Read the full transcript of Alycia Anderson’s conversation with global speaker, author, and disability advocate Spencer West. They explore disability identity, bodily autonomy, internalized ableism, queer representation, and the importance of interdependence. Spencer also shares the deeper meaning behind his Mount Kilimanjaro climb and introduces his new book, Breaking Free: Stop Following Expectations and Start Following Yourself, a practical guide to choosing your own path.
