Bethany Handley – författare

'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 PathsSince 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

'Urgent and beautiful, this book shows how our treatment of disability mirrors our treatment of nature. Essential reading' ― Katherine May, author of Wintering'Enlightening, energetic, challenging and essential ... this book should be required reading for everyone' ― Katriona O'Sullivan, author of Poor and Hungry 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, delivering a galvanising call for us to rethink how we live among nature and each other. Join Bethany as she wheels through the British countryside exploring ableism, climate justice and what nature means to her. On this journey we discover the feral boar of the Forest of Dean; 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. Exploring how land ownership, privatised healthcare, biodiversity loss and social marginalisation intertwine, Bethany shows why we must learn from nature's model of shared survival - and urges us to work together to make it open for all. 'A passionate call for an inclusive countryside - nature for all and all for nature' ― Jack Cornish, author of The Lost Paths'A change making book' ― Sally Huband, author of Sea Bean'A stunning exploration of longing for freedom, finding a home in your body and walking your own path in life' ― Pippa Stacey, author of How to Do Life with a Chronic Illness

Bethany Handley’s debut pamphlet, Cling Film, explores existing as a young Disabled woman in an ableist and inaccessible world. The opening line of the title poem reads: ‘Ableism. Verb. The act of wrapping the world in cling film.’ The collection lays bare the barriers that disable people, from physical inaccessibility to the discrimination of others, such as incompetent doctors, or ignorant passers-by.Joy is found in nature, however, including a wheelchair user leaving proud tyre marks across the beach in ‘Hiya Butt Bay’. These formally inventive poems challenge myths about disability in ways that are striking, astute, and devastatingly exact.

Beyond / Tu Hwnt is a communities-uniting collection of contemporary Welsh Deaf and Disabled voices.By celebrating the diversity and uniqueness of our voices, we aim to fill the void where our stories and experiences always should have existed.Our aim in bringing our poetry, non-fiction and fiction together is to show that our work exists in all its power beyond the barriers and that it always has existed here in Wales. A collection of work by Deaf and Disabled writers shouldn’t be radical, yet it is.Mae Beyond / Tu Hwnt yn gasgliad sy’n uno cymunedau o leisiau Cymreig cyfoes Byddar ac Anabl.Drwy ddathlu amrywiaeth ac unigrywiaeth ein lleisiau, ein nod yw llenwi’r bwlch lle y dylai ein straeon a’n profiadau fod wedi bod erioed.Ein nod wrth gasglu’n barddoniaeth, ein llenyddiaeth ffeithiol a’n ffuglen ynghyd yw dangos bod ein gwaith yn bodoli yn ei holl nerth y tu hwnt i’r rhwystrau, a’i fod wedi bod yma yng Nghymru erioed. Ni ddylai casgliad o waith gan awduron Byddar ac Anabl fod yn radical, ac eto dyna ydyw.