Hello!
Welcome to The View From Down Here - a newsletter of thoughts and happenings from my life as a journalist, writer, bookworm and disabled woman living in London.
Let’s get acquainted
I’m Lucy. You may know me from my work as a freelance journalist. I’ve written for outlets like The Guardian, The FT, The Times, Tortoise and others.
My main beat is disability - in all its guises. I cover things like disability representation in books and the arts, the sexual harassment of disabled women, and developments in accessible travel. There’s always a new issue to cover or a cool disabled person to interview. I love using my writing to raise awareness, spearhead change and combat ableism.
I’m also an experienced public speaker and avid social media user. I use all these public platforms to speak about ableism and spur people to take action. Please get in touch if you’re interested in working together!
And in very exciting news, my debut book is out on 7 September 2023!
The View From Down Here: Life as a young disabled woman is a memoir exploring what it’s like to live at the intersection of ableism and sexism, how these forces have shaped me, and how society often fails to see disabled women as women at all.
Pre-orders open soon, so watch this space!
Outside work, I love nothing more than good food shared with friends, or a quiet Saturday curled up with magazines and books. I’ll read anything well-written (words are the great love of my life) but have a particular soft-spot for history and narrative non-fiction. Let me know any recommendations in the comments!
You can also find me on Twitter and Instagram. For book-related stuff, contact my agent, Jess Molloy at Curtis Brown.
What’s this newsletter for?
Throughout my time as a journalist - and as a human being - I’ve seen how people don’t really know what it’s like to be a disabled person. Even less, a disabled woman.
While I cover big issues in my freelance work - like social care, representation, access and ableism - I want The View From Down Here to show the everyday experiences of disability, and what it’s like to live them.
So this is a very personal space, but one that I hope will enlighten, explain and, hopefully, empower nondisabled people to be disability allies.
Why subscribe?
Perhaps you’ve been thinking about issues like diversity and equality and would like to include disability in your activism or work.
Perhaps you have a disabled person in your life and want to know more about the issues they face without burdening them with the need to explain.
Perhaps you love reading and want to diversify the voices you hear from (while enjoying some good writing!).
Perhaps you don’t see your own experiences reflected in the media and feel you might here.
Or perhaps you’d like to support me to keep writing about all this stuff - subscriptions are what make this newsletter happen.
All of these are perfect reasons to subscribe! Just click the button below.
A little bit of housekeeping
The View From Down Here is a weekly newsletter.
Subscriptions are £5 a month - and for your money you’ll get:
The weekly edition, including links to some of the best writing on the internet
Non-fiction book reviews
Access to community discussions and Q&As
Access to the full archive
There’s also a free option, which will give you access to occasional public issues.
So hit subscribe and pick the option that’s best for you. You may even discover a special offer…
