Liz Lash

Liz Lash is a UK-born thalidomider who did not discover that her impairments were caused by thalidomide until her mother was dying and finally confessed to taking the drug. As a result, Liz's story is that of a woman growing up with a disability without the cushion of compensation awarded to other thalidomiders. Liz fought hard against being defined by her impairments throughout her education and tells many amusing stories about how she scared people away from their prejudices against her. She has had many diverse careers including being a specialist teacher for autistic children. Liz loves animals, has a cutting wit and offers sharp obervations on the nature of growing up with a physical disability. Her descriptions of the moment when her mother finally confessed to taking the drug are extremely clear and she provides many insights into the effect of this knowledge on her life. Parts 1 and 2 of the interviews took place in Liz’s home in Polegate on 19 October 2012. Part 3 took place in Liz’s home on 10 January 2013.

2012-2013

9 audio files

These recordings have been licensed by the Wellcome Trust for public use under Creative Commons Attribution-non commercial-Share Alike 3.00 UK. This means that anyone based in the UK can share and remix the material, as long as it is for non-commercial purposes. Credits, where given, should be to the library at Wellcome Collection, London. (c) Wellcome Trust.