Stories

We tell stories about health and human experience. Our words and pictures make connections, provoke new thinking and share lived experiences.

  • Article

Signing my skin colour

When Sabrina Tirvengadum tried to sign her skin colour as ‘Brown’ in BSL, her tutor insisted she use ‘Black’ instead. The experience led Sabrina to question why sign language couldn’t reflect her identity.

  • Article

Travelling for your health

A growing number of Victorians travelled to Europe for their health, but their experiences were not always what the doctor promised.

Part of Inside our collections
  • Book extract

In search of Black Mary

From the depths of a vanished well rises the story of Black Mary – a 17th-century Black healer. In this extract from the anthology 'Thirst', Gaylene Gould pieces together the fragments of Mary’s life in search of her long-lost well.

Part of Inside our books
  • Article

Medieval deaf communication

Communicating with hand signs has a long history. Researcher Jude Seal examines the evidence for signing in Medieval Europe among both deaf and hearing communities.

  • In pictures

Patient power

Needle, a small London-based group, led the early fight for patient rights. Leona Letts reveals how they championed giving patients a louder voice in their own care.

Part of Inside our collections

Friends, family, community

Explore the power of relationships on our health.

  • Article

Lonely bodies are hungry for more than turkey

At Christmas, many charities provide dinners for homeless or isolated people. Food is central to festive celebrations, but it can also satisfy our hunger for belonging and community.

Part of The loneliness epidemic
  • Article

Equality in genetics

Genetic counsellor Sasha Henriques harnessed her energy and resolve to tackle the racial biases she saw in her profession – with positive and promising results.

  • Article

The solidarity of sickness

Visiting an injured friend in hospital prompts writer Sinéad Gleeson to reflect on the instant rapport forged between compatriots in the kingdom of the sick.

Part of Being patient
  • Book extract

How stories bring us together

Elif Shafak considers how hard it is to be heard in our divided world, but how listening can nurture wisdom, connection and empathy.

Part of Inside our books
  • Article

Social isolation and the search for sanctuary

Threatened with deportation, Furaha Asani turned to her church for support. Met with silence and disinterest, she walked away, but argues that churches should do much more for migrants.

  • Article

Is it really OK to not be OK?

Our mental healthcare system is still the poor relation of services that treat physical illness, and the pandemic has shone a spotlight on this situation. Campaigner James Downs argues for fundamental change.

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Comics

Explore new perspectives on bodies, brains and health with our guest comic artists.

Books

We publish thought-provoking books exploring health and human experiences.

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  • Photo story

The surgical toolmaker's craft

When it comes to precision surgical tools, only the hand and eye of a skilled toolmaker will do.

  • In pictures

Zines as 'crip doulas'

Find out how 'crip doula' zines offer support, advice, resources, and share the complex feelings and experiences around disability.

Part of Zines at Wellcome Collection
  • Photo story

NHS night cleaners

NHS night cleaners are often not seen and not heard by the public they serve. Through Lewis Khan’s photographs and interviews, they reveal the vital role they play in keeping our hospitals safe.

  • Book extract

Waking up in a new body

Grace Spence Green was a fourth-year medical student when a man jumped off a balcony in a shopping centre and landed on her. She recalls her first moments in the hospital as a newly disabled patient.

  • Book extract

Waking the dead

Historian Molly Conisbee reflects on how we’ve paid our respects to the dead over the centuries – from lively gatherings around open coffins to sympathetic text messages – asking how mourning rituals can create communities.

Part of Inside our books
  • Article

How the slave trade’s medical legacies persist

Micha Frazer-Carroll, uncovers the historical links between enslavement and disability to better understand her family’s complex attitudes towards healthcare.

Part of Inside our collections
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