My Body is a Meadow

‘Urgent and beautiful, this book shows how our treatment of disability mirrors our treatment of nature. Essential reading‘ - Katherine May, author of Wintering ‘A passionate call for an inclusive countryside - nature for all and all for nature‘ - Jack Cornish, author of The Lost Paths 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. Praise for Cling Film: ‘Cling Film is a collection that lifts many veils and lets in much-needed light and air‘ Carol Rumens, Guardian ‘Opens our eyes and minds to new ways of seeing and being‘ Owen Sheers, author of Skirrid Hill ‘Be careful, these poems will change the way you see the world‘ Kim Moore, author of All the Men I Never Married ‘For anyone who values life‘ Joshua Jones, author of Local Fires ‘Glorious, necessary reading‘ Polly Atkin, author of Some of Us Just Fall ‘I laughed for an hour alongside Bethany Handley and, while I was laughing, I forgot about my pain‘ the Cyborg Jillian Weise, author of Common Cyborg ‘Breathtakingly raw and beautiful‘ Connor Allen