‘I’m not broken. I‘m amazing’: Life according to… blind presenter and author Lucy Edwards

​Lucy Edwards is an award-winning blind presenter, content creator and disability activist who is usually accompanied by her cute guide dog Miss Molly.

We caught up with her as she released her first book, Blind Not Broken, which is all about her journey from losing her sight to the rare genetic disease incontinentia pigmenti 11 years ago.

It’s been a long journey for you. How emotional has it been to write it all down?

My husband found me in different moments on the floor crying in the corner of the bedroom throughout writing this. I’d still be typing because I don’t have to see the screen through my tears!

I don’t need any lights – I always joke with that he’s the one that runs the electricity bill up, not me. I laugh at that in jest because you have to find the positives.

Your sight-loss came when you were just 17?

I completely lost my sense of self. I was on strong antidepressants for a while. I had a mental breakdown. I was suicidal, and I’ve never said that before publicly. I want people to know that I’m a success story because of the rich tapestry of my life so far.

I’m not perfect. I’ve had ups and downs and I just want to prove to people that normal people are role models. I fail every day, but it’s about how you get up that really defines your path.

Disabled people are some of the most resilient people you will ever meet. We have to all fit in a world that isn’t made for us and negotiate around different things all of the time. It makes us stronger.

@lucyedwards

So this is the moment that I blindfolded all my guests, and I walked down the aisle on my #wedding day… Myself and Ollie thought it would be a really good idea to blindfold him as well, as when I got to the end, and my dad passed my hand to Ollie he was able to feel my wedding dress in the exact way that I felt it when I first had it on. This was such an important experience for us both even though Ollie isn’t blind, but we thought it was really important for him and all of my guests to experience what it’s like for me in the most important moment of our life so far. As you can see me, Ollie and my dad are really struggling to hold it together. It was such an emotional moment and one that I will remember for the rest of my life. I am so lucky that I have a husband that accepts me for exactly who I am my disability and everything. The whole me. I walked down the aisle to arrival of the birds by @The Cinematic Orchestra, as this is the song at the end of one of my favourite films, the Theory of Everything. Stephen Hawking has been a massive role model in my life and I always cry at the end of that movie at his final monologue. I really believe in the philosophy that we are all just small beings and atoms on this massive planet and Stephen taught me that you can love and hate your disability equally, and that’s a truly beautiful thing. It’s a sense of self that I’ve had to work on and I felt truly independent when walking down the aisle with my dad to this song. This is quite an emotional and raw moment to share with you guys, but I thought it was so important as it’s not a typical way that a bride walks down the aisle but it was my way. Just remember you are so special and you don’t have to follow traditions if you don’t want to. Our wedding day is about you and the person that you love and every moment needs to feel right for you. Thank you to the amazing harpist @Amie True Music (gifted) for playing the main melody along with the 3D audio speakers from Delta Live that we had up the aisle so we could have immersive sound. Ollie made an arrangement so I could hear where I was. Every step I took the music evolved and so did the flowers! A truly blind experience!

♬ Arrival of the Birds (From “The Crimson Wing Mystery of the Flamingos”) – The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Your new book looks at grief but also celebration?

I love being blind now – I never thought I would be able to say that, ever. I hated being blind. It was the roadblock in my life, making things difficult for me. But now I think it’s defined my path. It’s a part of who I am.

I’ve redefined the way I see beauty as well. Without visuals you see the true essence of what life’s meant to mean.

It’s part-memoir, part self-help?

I talk about my grief journey, losing my eyesight at 17 and the moment that it happened. Recounting that traumatic memory, which I’ve never done before, was quite cathartic, actually. It’s definitely helped me process.

In the guide elements, I thought it’d be really good for someone else going through any sort of grief, whether it’s losing your eyesight or losing a loved one or grieving a part of yourself that you know you’ve lost.

The title – Blind Not Broken – is your motto?

It’s based on the social model of disability. For ages, my sense of self was hung up on the medical model – that we as the disabled person need to be fixed and the world around us is fine.

When I started asking why, my mind opened up and I got my confidence and voice back. I subscribed to the social model. I’m not broken. I‘m amazing. People need to work around me and the world needs more universal design in it.

How far do you think we still have to go in adapting?

Still a long way. I imagine a world where artificial intelligence is going to redefine the way we see disability. We’re just going to all be humans.

Socially, there’s still a way to go in being seen as equal. I adore being a disability activist because, after the pandemic, people are sitting up and listening.

It’s just getting people to understand if they’ve had no lived experience or don’t have anyone else in their life with a disability. It’s OK to not understand because no one teaches us about these things, but it’s then your responsibility if you know about it to be an ally.

@lucyedwards

I’m ready to share things with you about my sight loss journey that I never have before. Some things have just been too painful to chat about online so I decided to write them down. This is your guide to turning loss and grief into happiness!! If you are struggling right now, you are not alone and you never will be! Also, we are so close to my release date on the 28th of March. Myself and my publisher are hosting a competition for you to win a Canon R50 – the follow up to the G7X, the camera I used when I first started my social media channels! So to be in with a chance to win, preorder my book and head over to the link in my bio I hope whoever wins this camera finds their voice again with it, just like I did #MentalHealth #BlindNotBroken #SelfHelp #SelfHelpBooks #GriefJourney

♬ To build a home – 𝙇𝙭𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙯 🫶🏻

How pleased have you been with the way your social media videos have been received?

I love that people care, I love that people want to understand and see themselves within me, even if they’re not blind. It’s a move to authentic representation that people haven’t seen before.

I started making videos in 2014 and the first moments I turned on the camera were my only happy moments back then when I was rehabilitating.

I was surviving, not thriving. I was trying to swim through this lake of sorrow. Those moments of trying to find my community switched to updating people on my everyday life, but showing them things within our society that are now being implemented.

The things that I’m creating content about now, I don’t think I’d have dreamed would have been there when I first went blind.

How important has it been for you to be the person to someone else that you didn’t have?

On my day one I had no-one. 200 plus people lose their eyesight every single day in the UK. I just don’t want someone else’s day one to Google the word blindness and have nothing come up. That’s what happened to me. That’s my why.

Blind Not Broken by Lucy Edwards is out now. Visit her website at lucyedwards.com