Vie Portland

Who Am I? Vie Portland

In Who Am I? Emily and her mum imaginatively explore who she is.




In a study done in 2020/21, it was found that most children wouldn't make friends with someone who looked different to them; this could be because of their size, their colour, or their disability. It's not too surprising, really. Have a think about the villains in films and books; what do they look like? Many of them are fat, or bald, disabled or disfigured. It highlights the differences we have.




I don't like it.




And that's why, in my Emily stories, the stories aren't about her disability, about how she looks different, because I want readers to see that we all have far more in common than that which makes us different; I want readers to see that, when we accept and celebrate our differences, our worlds open up to so much more joy, to so many more experiences. Surely that's a better way to be?




As I say frequently, and as Emily's Mum says in the story, it's who we are and what we do that matters, and we really are wonderful, just as we are.