Em Ledger – co-founder of Poor Lass and host of Survivin’ and Thrivin’ – brings together five stories of survival authored by working-class writers. When we feel singled out or different – whether that’s because of serious illness, our sexuality, the death of a loved one, our weight, or being out of work – how do we find the will to carry on? Each essay in this series explores how surviving something significant can shape who we become.
![Colour digital artwork showing a figurative study of a pair of hands gracefully suspended in mid air, visible from just above the wrists. The hand on the right is held palm upwards, fingers slightly bent. The hand on the left is palm down, fingers extended slightly towards the other hand but not making contact. The background is made up of dark textured rough lines of dark red, dark blue greys and blacks, punctuated by white outlined leaf-like plants.](https://images.prismic.io/wellcomecollection/1ef0ee42-3cef-47fb-be7f-7ecf01d47185_1.hands_survival.jpg?w=1338&auto=compress%2Cformat&rect=&q=50)
Surviving a flesh-eating disease, Artwork: Nan Carreira. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).