Thank you for bringing humanity to broadcasting and writing. You have already changed the Today programme by introducing real honest topics which impact on so many people's lives. What a breath of fresh air. Thanks Emma.
I have to admire your courage in managing such debilitating health conditions while maintaining such a demanding career. You’re an inspiration to me and I’m sure many others.
I have told many people in recent years how much I admire you, and how grateful I am to you, for sharing your IVF journey before you had a “positive” outcome. When going through infertility and IVF myself, I found it so difficult that every story of the tough times ended with “I now have my family”. It was brave and generous of you to be open during the tough times, and I’m so glad we have you at the heart of British journalism. I’m looking forward to reading your book, and hope that your new treatment path is effective.
Well said. When, and if, anyone decides to share extremely painful and difficult health situations is entirely personal. Sometimes you need to put all your efforts into getting healthy and then recovering physically and emotionally from whatever you've been through. Sometimes people want to talk about what's happening at the time. That might be part of the pain management. Making it real, trying to pixilate it in order to survive it. Other people should just listen and support those who want or need to share their health journeys. You might learn something, empathise or feel relief that's it "not just you".
Your piece on trying for your second child still resonates with me to this day. It was such a lifeline when so much of the rhetoric was looking back once the box was ticked. I am so grateful for your honesty and your words reach further than you will ever know.
Dear Emma, your words"Articulation in the moment of how life feels" resonate and youre 100% right that it's healthy to do this when, well we are healthy enough to do it right? I am so sorry to hear you're battling pain and hope your new course of treatment come through sooner and better than expected.
I relate a lot to this Emma. I have recently started writing about my journey with Hashimoto's disease, and I am definitely writing more from that place of being on the other side of the worst of it (at least I hope so). I needed to be here to have clarity about what's useful to share with others, but also I needed the strength and energy that come from better health in order to put my work out into the world... I get though, that this can be alienating for readers still in the thick of it, but the relapses come to humble me and remind me that it's not a done deal.
Also no one owes anyone else their bad times and experiences. Men aren’t expected to so why are women? We’re so accustomed to women mining their own lives for content that when something is held back, is private for all sorts of reasons, we’re almost affronted that we don’t know it about them.
Maybe live is for living when times are shit and not everything needs to be documented or shared. In the words of Michaela Coel
“Visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success. Do not be afraid to disappear—from it, from us—for a while, and see what comes to you in the silence.”
Thankyou for writing and sharing all of this and I’m so sorry for what you’re going through. And I completely agree maternity is a service!! And not one I massively enjoyed to be honest! I’m in the middle of a health scare and have found writing about it enormously therapeutic - I haven’t published anything yet though because I don’t want to alarm people until I know what’s actually going on. But I know, with huge things like miscarriage, grief, new motherhood or health crises that capturing that feeling is only possible when you’re in it. The big trick then is being as brave as you are in sharing it for others. I know when I’ve been in those moments, the writing of others has been enormously helpful. Very best of luck with your new treatment and thanks so much for your wonderful writing.
Thank you Emma. So interesting to me how we can’t always write LIVE about profound life events. Detached. Disassociated. As we often are.
We get through what we got to handle.
I am writing about my lung cancer experience four years since diagnosis. Sometimes the writing releases wailing. Sometimes it is a beautiful patching up of myself.
Curious. Essential. A window into this breed of suffering for those who have not experienced. A mirror for those who have.
Such honest writing about the difficult questions. I found it impossible to write about my miscarriages until years afterwards - every time I tried I became too distressed to focus on writing. Now, decades later, I can do it (even without the 'happy ending' of a successful pregnancy). But I know I'll never recapture the emotions of that period when it was all happening. We each have to make the decisions that work for us.
I replied on Instagram before I realised you'd written this here.
Keep on keeping on, you're doing SO well. Just keeping on top of the day to day with your sanity intact is am achievement. Thank you for writing about your endo experiences, it means the world to me (someone who couldn't articulate just how awful it all was).
Thank you for bringing humanity to broadcasting and writing. You have already changed the Today programme by introducing real honest topics which impact on so many people's lives. What a breath of fresh air. Thanks Emma.
that is very, very kind - thank you for reading and engaging
I have to admire your courage in managing such debilitating health conditions while maintaining such a demanding career. You’re an inspiration to me and I’m sure many others.
how kind and lovely of you
I have told many people in recent years how much I admire you, and how grateful I am to you, for sharing your IVF journey before you had a “positive” outcome. When going through infertility and IVF myself, I found it so difficult that every story of the tough times ended with “I now have my family”. It was brave and generous of you to be open during the tough times, and I’m so glad we have you at the heart of British journalism. I’m looking forward to reading your book, and hope that your new treatment path is effective.
Well said. When, and if, anyone decides to share extremely painful and difficult health situations is entirely personal. Sometimes you need to put all your efforts into getting healthy and then recovering physically and emotionally from whatever you've been through. Sometimes people want to talk about what's happening at the time. That might be part of the pain management. Making it real, trying to pixilate it in order to survive it. Other people should just listen and support those who want or need to share their health journeys. You might learn something, empathise or feel relief that's it "not just you".
pixilate it is so good.... thank you for this...
Your piece on trying for your second child still resonates with me to this day. It was such a lifeline when so much of the rhetoric was looking back once the box was ticked. I am so grateful for your honesty and your words reach further than you will ever know.
I really appreciate this msg thank you
Dear Emma, your words"Articulation in the moment of how life feels" resonate and youre 100% right that it's healthy to do this when, well we are healthy enough to do it right? I am so sorry to hear you're battling pain and hope your new course of treatment come through sooner and better than expected.
that is terribly kind....
I relate a lot to this Emma. I have recently started writing about my journey with Hashimoto's disease, and I am definitely writing more from that place of being on the other side of the worst of it (at least I hope so). I needed to be here to have clarity about what's useful to share with others, but also I needed the strength and energy that come from better health in order to put my work out into the world... I get though, that this can be alienating for readers still in the thick of it, but the relapses come to humble me and remind me that it's not a done deal.
Also no one owes anyone else their bad times and experiences. Men aren’t expected to so why are women? We’re so accustomed to women mining their own lives for content that when something is held back, is private for all sorts of reasons, we’re almost affronted that we don’t know it about them.
Maybe live is for living when times are shit and not everything needs to be documented or shared. In the words of Michaela Coel
“Visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success. Do not be afraid to disappear—from it, from us—for a while, and see what comes to you in the silence.”
Thankyou for writing and sharing all of this and I’m so sorry for what you’re going through. And I completely agree maternity is a service!! And not one I massively enjoyed to be honest! I’m in the middle of a health scare and have found writing about it enormously therapeutic - I haven’t published anything yet though because I don’t want to alarm people until I know what’s actually going on. But I know, with huge things like miscarriage, grief, new motherhood or health crises that capturing that feeling is only possible when you’re in it. The big trick then is being as brave as you are in sharing it for others. I know when I’ve been in those moments, the writing of others has been enormously helpful. Very best of luck with your new treatment and thanks so much for your wonderful writing.
Thank you Emma. So interesting to me how we can’t always write LIVE about profound life events. Detached. Disassociated. As we often are.
We get through what we got to handle.
I am writing about my lung cancer experience four years since diagnosis. Sometimes the writing releases wailing. Sometimes it is a beautiful patching up of myself.
Curious. Essential. A window into this breed of suffering for those who have not experienced. A mirror for those who have.
Keep that body gentle and well.
✨💫✨💫
Such honest writing about the difficult questions. I found it impossible to write about my miscarriages until years afterwards - every time I tried I became too distressed to focus on writing. Now, decades later, I can do it (even without the 'happy ending' of a successful pregnancy). But I know I'll never recapture the emotions of that period when it was all happening. We each have to make the decisions that work for us.
I replied on Instagram before I realised you'd written this here.
Keep on keeping on, you're doing SO well. Just keeping on top of the day to day with your sanity intact is am achievement. Thank you for writing about your endo experiences, it means the world to me (someone who couldn't articulate just how awful it all was).