"Important, inclusive, and beautifully written, this memoir details the life of a Disabled writer as she explores the links between disability and nature. "
Gosh this is powerful, and so very personal to the author as she explores our natural world and details the importance of its survival, its accessibility, and the links between health and nature. Bethany Handley grew up in the Welsh countryside at one with the environment around her. In her early twenties she became a wheelchair user and witnessed firsthand the blocks and barricades that prevented her from reaching the vital oxygen of the countryside she so loves. The author writes with a beautiful energy, she herself is a force of nature, the words she uses are strong and awaken thoughts, feelings, and a level of understanding. It gifts a viewpoint, a glimpse of the pain of exclusion, a shout of activism, the value of the joy of our natural world. There is much to consider, to wonder at, to realise within these pages. As well as reviewing, I also work for a charity for Disabled young adults and this is a book I want to go to the rooftops to shout about. So, I’ve not only chosen it as a Liz Pick of the Month, it also joins our LoveReading Star Books. Vital and compelling, My Body is a Meadow is a convincing call to understand the importance of nature, and ensure our countryside is accessible to everyone.
Since childhood, Bethany Handley has always felt most at home out in the wilds of the Welsh countryside. This all changed when Bethany became a full-time wheelchair user in her twenties and suddenly found herself padlocked out of the landscapes she belonged to.
Today, nearly one in four people are Disabled in the UK. Yet, public rights of way are blocked in 32,000 places across England and Wales. My Body is a Meadow writes into this troubling landscape. Passionate and political, it delivers a galvanising call for us to rethink how we live among nature and each other. Lyrical and personal, Bethany invites readers to wheel alongside her as she explores ableism, climate justice and what nature means to her.
On this journey we discover the feral boar of the Forest of Dean, and one of the first places in Britain to industrialise; how the metal and rubber of a wheelchair can become just as much a part of your body as skin and bone; why swifts rarely land and how maps tell a story of exclusion. Unearthing parallels between land ownership and privatised healthcare, loss of biodiversity and social marginalisation, Bethany explores the lessons nature can teach us about inclusion and interdependence. This is a rallying cry for us to stop gatekeeping nature and work together to make it open and equal to all.
My Body Is a Meadow features in the following genres: Book Club Recommendations, Liz Robinson's Picks of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Biographies & Autobiographies, Mind, body, spirit, Nature and the natural world: general interest, Disability: social aspects, Climate change, Memoirs, Nature and the natural world: general interest, Memoirs, Disability: social aspects, The countryside, country life: general interest, Nature and the natural world: general interest, Political activism / Political engagement, Restoration ecology / rewilding
My Body Is a Meadow is available in Hardback
My Body Is a Meadow was written by Bethany Handley and published by Headline an imprint of Headline Publishing Group
My Body Is a Meadow has 288 pages
£18.00
