Grace Spence Green

Front cover image of the book To Exist As I Am by Grace Spence Green. It shows a doctor wearing dark pink scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck, sitting in a wheelchair facing forwards. Her dark brown hair is just visible on her shoulders but her head is out of shot of the photo.

Just finished listening to #ToExistAsIAm by @gracespencegreen.bsky.social Brilliant writing and I always love it when audiobooks are narrated so authentically by the author.

What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in June Writers and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments

A pleasure to share some of my favourite recent reads in the @theguardian.com - @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social’s No Straight Road Takes You There, @gracespencegreen.bsky.social’s To Exist as I am & Yael Van Der Wouden’s sublime The Safekeep 📚

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...

I might have finished this a couple of days ago, but it’s one I’m still thinking about. #ToExistAsIAm by @gracespencegreen.bsky.social is a powerful, life-affirming book and is a beautiful testament to the resilience and strength of the #disability community. Must-read book!

#BooksWorthReading

Thrilled to be one Waterstones Junes Best Books List! Out on Thursday!
www.waterstones.com/blog/the-wat...

Thread. I have read what resulted, and so should you.

The boy who came back: the near-death, and changed life, of my son Max It was, we were told, a case of sudden infant death syndrome interrupted. What followed would transform my understanding of parenting, disability and the breadth of what makes a meaningful life

if you read anything today, read this article by @archiebland.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

So disappointing to hear- these cuts affect real people. Jess does such fantastic work.

Last year my wife had breast cancer and a double mastectomy.

This morning, for the first time ever, she was challenged in the changing rooms at the swimming pool. Her breasts were not what make her a woman - but, breasts or not, she is entitled to dignity and protection from vigilantes.

A portrait of Grace Spence Green looking directly at the camera. Grace sits crossed legged in her wheelchair and wears round, pale yellow glasses.She has dark brown hair, with a fringe, and is wearing a navy blue jumpsuit and stripy top.

Join a conversation between @gracespencegreen.bsky.social and Kyla Harris, as Grace explores her journey from spinal-injury patient to qualified doctor and disabled activist.

When - 05 Jun
Where - Wellcome Collection, London
Cost - Free

disabilityarts.online/events/radic...

Definitely one to look out for. Super so far. Out 5/6/25 @gracespencegreen.bsky.social

Thank you so much Kate!

My #nonfiction Titles Not to Miss for June in @thebookseller.com are by @iainmacgregor1.bsky.social @dwhitehouse.bsky.social Barbara Demick @gracespencegreen.bsky.social Jay Griffiths @itaob.bsky.social Pria Anand @jeremyathertonlin.bsky.social Krystal Evans

Happy World TB Day. Grateful for all the work global TB Fighters pour into preventing this curable and preventable scourge. Together, we can end TB.

I'm a Disabled Woman. Is That My Brand? "Am I squandering the power of my voice when I speak about anything else?"

As usual, Rebekah Taussig finds a way of speaking so eloquently on things I didn't realise I was feeling too but had no words to verbalise. Grateful for her voice here;
time.com/7225536/disa...

My Dad Had Dementia. He Also Had Facebook. At first, I worried about his erratic posting. Then I realized it was his lifeline.

Beautiful article; www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

Great prize here for writers who are also carers.

Please share :)

My partner in crime has written a deeply personal book on her unbeileveable experience. I (perhaps biased) feel that it is a profoundly important insight into medicine and disability which, at it's core, serves as a beautifully effusive paean to all things inclusive:
bsky.app/profile/grac...

To Exist As I Am by Grace Spence Green | Waterstones Buy To Exist As I Am by Grace Spence Green from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

It’s out on June 5th, but as a new author, pre-orders massively help with visibility so I'd be so grateful if you'd considering ordering ahead of publication!! www.waterstones.com/book/to-exis... 5/5

I’m so grateful to the team at @wellcomecollection.bsky.social and @profilebooks.bsky.social for seeing the potential in this.
This has been the best thing I’ve ever done, and I can’t wait for you to read it. 4/5

A picture of me, a white woman with glasses, holding my book TO EXIST AS I AM, a doctors notes on recovery and radical acceptance. The book cover is a picture of me sitting in my wheelchair wearing scrubs, from the shoulders down

a quote from y book, 'I want you to understand the nuances of my story, and that there is nuance to disability. Disability is too often oversimplified, sensationalised or glorified, leaving no room for its dynamic nature and the rich variety of experience. I want to frame this book in hope, too, writing from a place of compassion and empathy rather than criticism. I’m writing as someone who has not always done the right thing either, or always known what might be the right thing to – or the right words to say. I want us all to do better.'

Every thought, every interaction, every reflection on this journey I would chronicle on scrap paper, iPhone notes, emails to myself- and slowly, painstakingly, that has turned into a book, TO EXIST AS I AM. 3/5

At first it was a way to anchor myself to the strange new reality I had found myself in, but as I wrote, as I learnt, I began to think this could be something bigger than just my diary. 2/5

On the 25th October 2018, from my hospital bed, I began to write. 1/5

I asked a very quiet older patient to write a sentence for a Mini-Mental State Examination, and he wrote 'this test is a bit silly'. Have kept the scrap paper in in my notebook ever since!

Katherine Rundell · Why children’s books? Children’s books, to a great extent because they are written for those who cannot participate in the market, can offer...

‘The great children’s writers trusted children with irony and with sophisticated ideas: they trusted them to see in language a set, not of rules, but of possibilities.’

Katherine Rundell on children’s literature: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

When you use alt text, I'm thrilled. I love reading what people write. I love to read how people interpret what they see, what they think is important, the details I might not otherwise have known to see, the piece of knowledge you're introducing me to. It's a flexible, fabulous tool.

🧵 Have you heard of leishmaniasis?

This neglected tropical disease affects 700,000 to 1 million people each year, mostly in low-income communities. It’s caused by Leishmania parasites, spread by sandflies.

It has three main forms ⤵️ [1/6]

Hi Mat! Big fan of your work :)

a photo of a colourful striped knitted baby hat in orange, grey, light blue, purple and pink, with a label sewed on the outer rim of the hat that reads 'Handmade by Grace'

First hat of the year knitted! I have so enjoyed getting back into knitting, its been such a nice approach to have a new year's resolution that's just enjoyable!

Just finished Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver- one of the best books I’ve read in a long time- any one have any suggestions for similiar?

Shut away and ignored: thousands of disabled adults are at the frontier of the human rights struggle | John Harris When you attend your local choir or yoga class, just stop and think – where are the disabled adults, asks Guardian columnist John Harris

“If you are not disabled and you regularly go to a yoga class, a book group or just the pub, when was the last time you did so with even a single disabled adult present?”

Thanks to @johnharris1969.bsky.social for being one of the rare columnists to ask these Qs. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...