Hey you!

I’m Jayne, and I am so grateful that you’re here. This is a space where we get honest—really honest; about our internalized “isms,” where we let our mess show, and where we hold space for healing our Body Grief with deep compassion and Gratitude. It's okay to feel it all here, even the hopelessness, because this shit is hard. So, welcome to the mess. You are not alone in it.

As the author of my debut book, This Is Body Grief (OUT NOW!!), I’ve poured my heart into defining and conceptualizing the under-recognized grief that comes with living in a body, especially when that body feels like it’s betrayed you.

Through my lived experience with an eating disorder, physical disability, and chronic illness, I’ve come to understand that Body Grief is real, painful, and worth honoring. And I invite you to wonder about your own relationship with it, because I believe healing starts with curiosity and compassion.

I also have a little love project called Jayne’s Journals, a series of Short N’ Sweet reads that offer vulnerable, intimate glimpses into my personal Body Grief journey. I can’t wait to have you along for the ride.

With so much love and Gratitude,
Jayne

With so much love and Gratitude, 

Jayne

About Jayne

Jayne Mattingly is a nationally recognized disability advocate, body image speaker, and author of This is Body Grief (Penguin Random House); a groundbreaking book about what it means to grieve a body that no longer reflects the life you once lived or thought you would live.

Jayne coined the term Body Grief to name the very real and often overlooked mourning process that comes with living in a body from puberty, to aging, chronic illness to menopause, and gender dysphoria to disability.

​

Her work has been featured by The TODAY Show, TIME Magazine, The Papaya Podcast and Maria Shriver’s The Sunday Paper, and she has shared stages with cultural icons like Demi Lovato and Elizabeth Gilbert.

Through her nonprofit, The AND Initiative, she uses storytelling, education, and advocacy to shift the conversation around accessibility, ableism, and healing in medical and mental health spaces.

​

Jayne is also the artist behind Dying for Art, an ongoing series of bold, abstract paintings that explore what it means to create in a body that is constantly navigating decline, pain, and beauty. Her art, like her book, is a rebellion against erasure—proof that disabled bodies can hold grief and power, stillness and brilliance, all at once.

​

Based in Charleston, SC, you’ll find Jayne barefoot in her wheelchair, painting or writing with her service dog Wheatie nearby and Taylor Swift playing in the background.

This is Body Grief is available wherever books are sold.
Support Jayne’s work through her book, her nonprofit, or her art

Stay up-to-date

You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox.

Join the crew

Be part of a community of people who share your interests.

To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.