Litsy

The View from Down Here: Life As a Young Disabled Woman | Lucy Webster

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“Women's lives are shaped by sexism and expectations. Disabled people's lives are shaped by ableism and a complete lack of expectations. But what happens when you're subjected to both sets of rules?“

A memoir from journalist & advocate for people with disabilities, Lucy Webster, which examines how sexism & ableism are intertwined when it comes to disabled women. From dealing with education, finding work, & trying out dating, (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf the experiences of disabled women are often not thought of, let alone considered.

Webster brought up some aspects that I had never even considered such as the barriers disabled women face when attempting to access basic healthcare such as smear tests as many GP surgeries do not have hoists as standard. Or the military-grade planning it takes just to be able to have a night out with so few fully accessible transport options, & where pubs market 2d

OutsmartYourShelf themselves as accessible but fail to provide a ramp to negate the presence of a doorstep. Or where shops use accessible changing rooms to store old mannequins. All in all, it made me think that as a society we really pay lip service to disability access. There's so much more that could be done.

There are times when it feels more like you're reading an academic article than a memoir but given the author's job, it's no surprise. 2d

OutsmartYourShelf It's definitely worth a read if you want to understand just how deep ableism still runs in modern society. 4🌟

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, DK RED, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8036252412
Read 4th - 6th Nov 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES (edited) 2d

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Deblovestoread

Fearless and Free: A Memoir | Josephine Baker

#WeeklyForecast

I had gotten behind in my buddy reads again so decided it was time to catch up and start the new ones on time. Hoping doing a #WeeklyForecast will keep me motivated.

I am almost at the finish line with the tagged and What We Knew. Next audio will be Nobody‘s Girl. Not sure what my next ebook will be. Just started the Austen for #NonfictionNovember and will start Persuasion soon.

🤞🏼 I can stay on task 😂

41 likes

Floresj

The Last American Road Trip: A Memoir | Sarah Kendzior

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Politically, I agree with most points the author makes. Some essays about traveling with her kids were wonderful and completely describes the feeling of loving America (what we think it might be) with what it is, and its history. I think what would have made this a 5/5, is the people that her family met- not just the landscapes and attractions. Though these are America, the people and our ability to (hopefully) be neighborly is what I came for.

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keithmalek

Pull Me Up: A Memoir | Dan Barry

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Like almost everything else that has been written by Dan Barry, this was amazing.
#2025Book44

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keithmalek

Pull Me Up: A Memoir | Dan Barry

On the stool to my right was a sweat-drenched comic named Sammy, talking about how he had killed that night; if this were true, humor had been the victim.

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keithmalek

Pull Me Up: A Memoir | Dan Barry

Among the other necessities, we packed pens and paper because I am naked without them. I have rustled through life with a notebook pressed against my chest and a pen bleeding in my pocket. They are the instruments I use to ease the low-grade panic born of the absurd sense that it is my mission to record moments. I chase stories with pen and paper the way a child chases fireflies with a glass jar and a hole-dappled lid.

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Robotswithpersonality

Way of the Hermit: My Incredible 40 Years Living in the Wilderness (Original) | Ken Smith

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A bit more of a guide than a memoir, you get a more straightforward introduction to Smith's early years, a brief account of his journeys in the wilderness, primarily in Canada (felt ridiculously proud of his admiring descriptions of BC), prior to settling in one wood. But the story of his time at Loch Treig is divided more along the lines of what is essential to think about/know/do if you contemplate this lifestyle, especially in the Scottish 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? Scottish Highlands. The way of the hermit, indeed.
I love that what shines through clearest in all of his advice and reminiscences is strongly valuing kindness, generosity, and conservation. Much as he may have found more peace without the crush of an urban population, he is quick to acknowledge all those people who have helped him along his way. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 3/? That gratitude extends to the land he's lived on, it's beauty and bounty, and a consistent, conscientious, somewhat mournful focus on the need to tread lightly, the ways the local climate, ecosystem has changed linked to an understanding of this being a microcosm of the larger environmental concerns of today.
2mo

Robotswithpersonality 4/? There's a bit of 'old man yells at cloud' in his perspective, unable to reconcile the idea that people might enjoy a city life or a desk job, and as passionate as he is in championing nature, I do wish he seemed more optimistic about rewilding efforts in the U.K. Especially as you see him move from a ghillie aiding in deer stalking (aka helping people hunt deer on the estate because indigenous predators have been wiped out, 2mo

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Robotswithpersonality 5/? and population control of deer is necessary to maintain the health of the local ecosystem) to someone who is relieved his advancing age removes him from those staff who have to kill the animals - though he laments that he can no longer fish in the loch, as it is now experiencing it's own population concerns.
2mo

Robotswithpersonality 6/? There are sections of the book that I wish had gone into more detail, where we might have gained a bit more of his inner thoughts/life than a description of events, but the book at this size does make better odds that more people will pick it up. I do also wonder, now that I know there was a documentary, The Hermit of Treig, about this man that pre-dates, indeed partially inspired this book, if that might cover his life in a different way. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 7/? Overall, I think you can take inspiration from the way he's lived his life, without, as he himself states, going as far as he did. He does acknowledge when his life choices were risky, but urges and exemplifies caution a great deal more. Nevertheless, his scale of toughness means the average reader will probably be a little stunned at what he occasionally shrugs off. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 8/? There is humour and humility and resilience. A good read physically or on audio.
Definitely a collaborative effort, as Smith had Millard's assistance in writing the book, and Dean Williamson narrates the audiobook. Unsure of the origins of the accent, but it works to tell this story. I should mention, there are differences between physical book and audio, I assume the audio is based off the UK written version, with a fair amount of local 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 9/? parlance thrown in, and it's obvious the written version I've got has been revised to substitute more North American synonyms. I found the foreign slang utterly charming, while also being grateful for a reference with more familiar terms to translate. ☺️ Can highly recommend the tandem reading experience for my fellow North American readers.
2mo

Robotswithpersonality 10/10 ⚠️Loss of parents, discussion of depression, animal death, mention of injury, suicide, cancer diagnosis and treatment 2mo

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Robotswithpersonality

Way of the Hermit: My Incredible 40 Years Living in the Wilderness (Original) | Ken Smith