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My Body is a Meadow: Finding Freedom in the Outdoors
'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
'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
- GenresNonfiction
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 7, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 21, 2026
This was a powerful book and powerful books are often uncomfortable. Some of the ideas are quite startling although after a while I could start to brace myself for the lurches to connect one issue with another... and credit to Bethany Handley, she does usually have a strong case eg the idea that the River Wye is Disabled.
The issue of disability access to the outdoors is a challenging one, and some myths are nicely busted here (no, it isn't all about tarmac paths)... although it is shocking how much of this book has to be about more than 'access to nature' including access to a shower that doesn't involve travelling to the local leisure centre and the NHS wheelchair supply issues that should provoke a riot. But it's not niche... her experience shows how life can change overnight, although in her case she had had other, more fluctuating, health conditions prior to this which also inform her thinking (I felt there was a little too much vagueness about the specifics of all the conditions in a book which gets laudably specific about some aspects of disabled experience). There are areas of disability she perhaps doesn't address due to not having personal experience.
I feel as though I am making this book sound like a dry polemic, when it is a work bursting with joy.
The issue of disability access to the outdoors is a challenging one, and some myths are nicely busted here (no, it isn't all about tarmac paths)... although it is shocking how much of this book has to be about more than 'access to nature' including access to a shower that doesn't involve travelling to the local leisure centre and the NHS wheelchair supply issues that should provoke a riot. But it's not niche... her experience shows how life can change overnight, although in her case she had had other, more fluctuating, health conditions prior to this which also inform her thinking (I felt there was a little too much vagueness about the specifics of all the conditions in a book which gets laudably specific about some aspects of disabled experience). There are areas of disability she perhaps doesn't address due to not having personal experience.
I feel as though I am making this book sound like a dry polemic, when it is a work bursting with joy.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This book is a stunning exploration of longing for freedom, finding a home in your body and walking your own path in life even when physical and social barriers can make it seem like an impossible feat. Handley’s writing powerfully dismantles the idea that interdependence is something we should fear, and instead shows us how the human condition is intertwined with the natural world and reflects its own fight for survival during these pivotal years.
May 25, 2026
Such a remarkable, beautiful book, equally full of joyful moments and powerful calls to action, and written in lyrical, poetic prose.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews