No way! You’re here. I’m positively thrilled.
Welcome to Our Bodies: Ourselves! Here, you’ll find stories about people and bodies, and how our bodies are people. Come for disability, reproductive, and body justice; stay for a warm hug and a soft place to be in community together.
“Liddy Grantland’s…reflections from the internality of queerness, chronic pain, and activism invite us to consider our own physicality. Kind without saccharine, wise without preachiness, Grantland’s [work] is a journey in the spaces that elude easy answers.” - Rev. Melissa Florer-Bixler, on Flesh and Bones
Why subscribe?
Subscribe to receive a biweekly essay from me, delivered with love to your inbox. Together we’ll talk about embodiment and trauma, disability and chronic pain, cancer, gender, sex, and reproductive justice. Also, lots of other stuff. I'll tell stories and parse out complexity and tell the truth as best I can. I’d be so glad to have you learning and living alongside me.
Who are you?
I’m Liddy! I use she/her pronouns. I’m a queer disabled writer and care worker from South Carolina. I’ve shared time as a Direct Support Professional and team leader at L’Arche, Greater Washington, DC for the past few years. L’Arche is an intentional community of folks with and without disabilities, and also, the nonprofit that funds Medicaid-support group homes where I worked. I also provide practical support to folks seeking abortions as a clinic escort and community educator, and I’m on track to full-spectrum doula certification. I am in the middle of a Master of Social Work program and, as of January 2025, I have Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. (Womp, womp.)
I navigate the world as a person with chronic pain, and I wrote a book about it called, Flesh and Bones: learning to love this body. I’ve written for Intima, Pleiades, Sojourners, Washington Post, The Chronicle, Duke Magazine, South of the Garden, and more. I’ve preached the good news of our bodies and ourselves in congregations in North Carolina and Virginia. My cat, Joni, and I spend our time going from soft surface to soft surface, eating snacks, watching a lot of TV, and reading books every once in a while. I love fresh produce (and growing it myself) and women singer-songwriters and run-on sentences and fanfiction and big hugs and t-shirts with words on them.
“Through her writing, Liddy Grantland brings you with her on her complex and intimate journey of learning to truly see, truly know, and truly love her body. Her courage here is such a stunning gift--to speak so gently about pain in so many of its manifestations is to offer a form of healing not easily found. These reflections invite all of us to make beauty out of everything that hurts--even when what hurts is our own selves.” - Jamie Lee Finch, on Flesh and Bones
Why pay?
Do you believe that writers and creatives should get paid for the work that they do? Do you like hearing from a twenty-something with a unique perspective on living with a body in the world? Do you want to hear from me more often and join me in the comments on posts? Those are fabulous reasons to become a paid subscriber.
Paid subscriptions allow me to pay interviewees, designers, guest posters, and even myself what we deserve. Paid subscribers gain access to posts that are older than 2 weeks. You can trust that I will never try to sell you anything, and that my best words will always be free for all.
(And, it’s totally cool with me if you don’t click that button. If financial needs make subscription not possible right now—let me know. We’ll work it out, no questions asked. And no matter what, I’m delighted to have you here with me.)
I’ve been meaning to do this for a long time. Your voice is singular, your wisdom is immense. You have so much to share with the world. - Allison Kirkland, on becoming a paid subscriber to Our Bodies: Ourselves
Accessibility
All photos used have an alt-text associated with them that is accessible via e-readers. If you have an access concern or feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Alright, that’s all for now. Talk soon, sweet friends.
With love,
Liddy
Logo and header design by Gabby Hong. Based on the original drawing by Julia Illana, http://juliaillana.com/
