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Disabled Author: Tourette Syndrome, OCD, ADHD, GAD, agoraphobia with panic disorder (formerly)
Books: Agora, The Wall (forthcoming children's book being republished)
Other Publications: Next Avenue (PBS), Business Insider, Huffington Post, Well + Good, Plainsongs, TERSE Journal, The Mighty, Bustle, and others
Background
Gretchen Gales is a writer, educator, and if the mood strikes, an artist. She is the executive editor for Quail Bell Magazine and a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University's College of Humanities & Sciences as well as the School of Education. Gretchen's chapbook Agora (Alien Buddha Press, 2023), a semi-finalist for the Marginalia Series, is available now. Her work has appeared in Plainsongs, TERSE, Burningword, White Stag, Headlight Review, and others. See more of Gretchen's work at www.writinggales.com.
How She Came To Be a Writer
Ever since I knew how to put words on a page, I've created stories. What I didn't know was that my disabilities shaped so many of my experiences, from the books I loved to how I represented the world around me. When I found out I had Tourette Syndrome at 22, I wanted to bridge the gap in understanding the disability and create more opportunities for authentic representation in media. I hope to expand understanding to general audiences as well as break into the literary world as disability literature.
How Her Disabilities Impact Her Writing and Life in General
It makes me conscious of how I am representing myself while being conscious that others have different experiences. It also makes me have a very critical lens of representations of disability by those who have not intimately experienced it. It can be frustrating to see examples of stereotypes dominant media.
Challenges She Faces As a Writer
Social expectations are hard to navigate, as Tourette's often manifests as fidgeting, blurting, or any other verbal or motor tic. Agoraphobia used to severely limit my trips outside of the East Coast. OCD makes every interaction or innocent thing tinged with doubt or horror. Fatigue from my conditions can also limit my ability to manage the absurd amount of tasks I was able to handle in college, but perhaps that is just what being in your 30's looks like.
