It was such a pleasure to travel to Melbourne for the launch of ‘#MeToo’ at Readings bookstore in Carlton last week.  It was so well attended that there was barely room to move!  I felt so honoured that my little poem, ‘safe’, first written and published way back in the 1980s now appears in this new book alongside the work of so many terrific writers and thinkers. Thanks so much to the editors for choosing to include this small example of my body of work in this very important collection.  It inspired me to collect my other historic work on this theme into a collection, which can be accessed on this site. (Link on the main page.)

One great moment was finally meeting the appearance activist, (and fashion maven) Carly Findlay, after several years of online discussion and sharing, and numerous attempts at a meetup.

Carly’s relentless work in the Disability Rights area has empowered so many, and for me personally, these past few years of knowing her has prompted me to return to my own activism and speak and write more openly about my own struggles with non-visible illness and disability.

Carly’s recently-released book, ‘Say Hello’ (Harper Collins, 2019) is a very important (and immensely readable) addition to the canon of works about visible difference and disability, and how we negotiate the world and deal with the (often rude and discouraging) reactions of other people to our differences.

So here’s a selfie of Carly and me with the new book, celebrating our first meeting. What a great night it was!  Hope to see you again soon, Carly!

And here’s the cover of Carly’s book, as bright and colourful as she is: