Don't call her an inspiration — comedian Maysoon Zayid is here to make you laugh

Maysoon Zayid is a comedian who calls herself a sit-down stand-up. When she performs, she typically sits in a tall, steady chair with her microphone propped up in front of her. Those details are important because, as someone with cerebral palsy, Zayid tends to shake.

When she first started doing comedy, Zayid didn't want to talk about her palsy, but eventually, she decided to address it on her own terms.

"I think too often people use the word 'inspirational' to mean: 'I'm so glad I'm not disabled like you! I would totally kill myself.' And that's the inspiration I don't want to be... because I worked really hard on my talent."

In her new Audible memoir, Find Another Dream, Zayid describes the moment she carved her own path as the moment a comic was born. She's toured the world, her Ted Talk has more than five million views, and she may be the first person ever to perform stand-up in Jordan and the Palestinian territories.

Zayid joined q's Tom Power on the line from New York to share some stories from her new audio memoir, Find Another Dream, which is available now at Audible.ca.

— Produced by Vanessa Greco

Download our podcast or click the 'Listen' link near the top of this page to hear the full conversation with Maysoon Zayid.