This week, Rina, Lauren and season one guest Gemma Sherlock, interview trained psychotherapist Emmett de Monterey on his extraordinary life and memoir ‘Go The Way Your Blood Beats.’ 

Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 18 months old, Emmett was raised by loving and liberal parents and yet he grappled for a long time with accepting his own identity. In his early adolescence, these feelings were compounded by the discovery that he was gay, and by becoming a media sensation for ground-breaking gait surgery in the US.

In this heart warming discussion we delve deep into Emmett’s story, into the prejudice he encountered, his route to acceptance and the impact his parents played in helping him to embrace his own identity. Lauren, Rina and Gemma discuss how their own views on disability have changed and Emmett shares why owning and writing his story was so important.

Guest Biography

Emmett de Monterey grew up in South East London in the early 1980’s. When he was eighteen months old he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy which, up till then, was a condition his young, bohemian parents had never heard of. At aged 12, Emmett was selected to undergo a revolutionary gait surgery in America and was the subject of national media attention. The story in the papers was one of ‘cures’, but while the surgery was a success, it wasn’t the ‘miracle’ of the tabloid headlines. Around the same time, Emmett was also realising he was gay, but thought that to be both disabled and queer was impossible, and that his sexuality would always remain theoretical, a secret.

Emmett has recently written a memoir Go the Way Your Blood Beats, a powerful story about finding your place in the world, embracing your identity, and fighting to be seen in a society which would still prefer the disabled to be invisible.

Go the Way Your Blood Beats - Amazon

@PenguinUKBooks

@VikingBooks

Content Warnings

Diagnosis

Traumatic Birth

Surgery

Eating Disorders

Death in Adolescence

References the haemophiliacs contaminated blood scandal (1970s-90s UK)

Resources

Watch Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution | Netflix Official Site

Far from the Tree by Andrew Solomon – review | Health, mind and body books | The Guardian

End the Awkward | Disability charity Scope UK

Visible Hate Campaign | Ending Appearance Related Hate Crime (changingfaces.org.uk)

Emmett refers to 22% of the population experiencing disability. See below for relevant statistics.

Disability facts and figures | Disability charity Scope UK

Disability, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

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