I was not ready for this series when I picked it up. I bought the audiobook after having seen other people talk about it on Goodreads, expecting it to be good, but having no idea it would become one of my favourite books to have read this year. Title: The Poppy WarAuthor: R.F. KuangPublisher: Harper…
Author: Connor Scott-Gardner
You Have ADHD part 1: Life Before Diagnosis
I recently received an ADHD diagnosis. This didn’t come as a huge surprise to me, in fact it was something I decided to explore because certain behaviours of mine seemed to fit with everything I’d read about ADHD, and the experiences of people I know. I decided to be open about this on my blog…
Ugly Grief
I miss my mum. Of course I do. Writing those words feels stupid and wholly inadequate because it’s obvious that I miss her and shouldn’t I have something more profound to say? But here we are. I miss her and it hurts and grief is not pretty. I just want to be able to call…
Good Intentions may have Unintended Consequences: My Response to the Letter Signed by Legal Academics in Support of Kathleen Stock
In recent weeks there has been a tension running through certain pockets of academia. It’s hard to say if this can be felt on campus, as I haven’t been there, but certainly online it is very noticeable. Some will portray it as a conflict between the rights of academics and the rights of students, others…
Remembering my Mum
My mum passed away last night from cancer at the age of 68. Writing those words doesn’t feel real, as much as I know that they are. I want people to understand the person she was, as if somehow, the more people who know about her, the longer she will be with me. Although both…
Each Last Moment
You never remember your lasts. Perhaps you tell yourself that you will. Surely you will remember your last conversation with a person, last shared meal, last joke, or song you shared or book you read together. But will you? I thought I would. How could I not? My mother is dying. She knows this. I…
The Grief Before they’re Gone
I’ve become familiar with anticipatory grief, the process of grieving a loss before it actually happens. I wasn’t sure if it was something I’d write about, but I’ve always found writing helpful for making sense of the world. When someone is really ill, time does strange things to you. In some moments it feels like…
UK Conservative National Disability Strategy Fails to Uphold Principles of Democracy
This morning, the UK government released their National Disability Strategy, a paper which outlines their policy focus pertaining to disabled people. A comprehensive strategy to tackle the multiple inequities that disabled people face sounds like a good thing on the surface, however it is so vague as to mean very little in reality. Few practical…
But who are we Fighting, Really?
I’ve been reading and thinking a lot lately about the systems that enable discrimination against certain groups of people. Of course I experience this discrimination as a disabled person, but disabled people are hardly the only group to find themselves disadvantaged and on the receiving end of unequal treatment. I started my life as an…
Blindness and the Barriers to the Ancient World
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about information deprivation. These aren’t new thoughts. As a blind person, I’m constantly denied access to information that other people take for granted. That denial isn’t malicious, it’s simply a result of living in a world that isn’t designed for people like me. There are lots of very important…