Hi I'm Zoë! Welcome to my website! Both my writing and disability doula work are rooted in personal experience with the medical-industrial complex, as well as a commitment to collective liberation and liberatory care practices. I see my writing and care work as inseparable. My love for both comes from my experiences with the medical industry, my understanding of the violent systems we live within, and my desire to contribute to making a more loving world. All of my services are offered remotely.
My doula services are for you if:
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you have a chronic illness or disability and don't feel like you have received the support or care you need from the medical system
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you are looking for support from someone who understands intersectional disability and has experienced chronic illness
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you are tired of being dismissed and want to feel seen and heard by someone who gets it
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you have a disability or chronic illness and need help developing coping strategies, asking for support from loved ones, or advocating for yourself
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you have a loved one with a disability or chronic illness and want to develop stronger support skills
My writing is for you if:
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you feel like poetry is a way for you to heal and make sense of the world
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you believe that dreaming and imagining are key to building a better world
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you want to read and write poetry that engages with disability, illness, and the body
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you want to connect with writing that is rooted in care
My Story
I first became ill when I was eleven years old, and dropped out of school for the first time. It was terrifying to have an unknown illness and feel constantly dismissed and gaslit by doctors. I didn't know what was happening to me, I didn't know who to believe, and didn't know how to cope with my new reality. At 13 I was diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), aka Mold Illness. After initially becoming sick and leaving school, I dropped out of school two more times, nearly died several times, went through countless medical treatments with countless doctors, and left multiple jobs due to health reasons. Growing up, I struggled with my mental health and sense of self worth as a result of my experiences with the medical system and ableism. I am still emotionally healing from the deep sense of shame I developed as a teenager, and am physically healing from the damage caused by years of exposure to toxins. I continue to find healing, community, and hope through connecting with others with similar experiences, writing about my experiences and illness, and learning about disability justice and the medical-industrial complex.
As I have physically and emotionally begun to heal, I naturally began moving into the role of a disability doula, and began writing about my experiences. I came to this work by seeking healing from my experiences with the medical industrial system, and love connecting with people who have similar experiences. Ultimately, I want to provide the support that I wish I had when I was younger.
A little more about my experience:
I am chronically ill, disabled, neurodivergent, mentally ill, and have 14+ years of personal experience navigating ableist systems, advocating for my accessibility needs, and supporting others with navigating illness. As a racially ambiguous mixed Chinese-American queer femme, I navigate a complex intersection of identities and experiences. I am disabled and have chronic illnesses, neurodivergencies, and mental illnesses. While I am currently invisibly disabled, I have been visibly disabled in the past and have experienced a range of dis-ability. I follow the social model of disability, and focus on intersectionality within disability. I am informed by Black feminist theory, disability justice, collective liberation movements, and anti-colonial and anti-capitalist frameworks. I see disability justice as key to collective liberation! Liberation cannot happen without significantly altering the ways we interact with disability and illness. The medical-industrial complex is/is created from systems of violence and those (non)ethics are fundamental to the way disability is both viewed and used as a tool to further systemic violence.
I have conflict mediation and facilitation training, and some knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including an acupressure certification. I have received training to be an abortion doula and was recently trained as a street medic. Additionally, I have a Housing Quality Standards (HQS) certification, and have knowledge and experience with indoor mold and illness caused by mold exposure. In addition to embodied knowledge of disability and illness, I have also researched and studied the medical-industrial complex, and liberation movements. I have worked as an advocate for other disabled and chronically ill community members for years, and have supported legislative work related to environmental illnesses. I am most knowledgable about CIRS and Chronic Lyme Disease, but provide support to people with a range of disabilities and illnesses.
I am always open to learning and growing, and am continuing to seek out opportunities to learn and grow!
Author Bio:
Zoë Luh (she/they) is a mixed Chinese-American, disabled poet, artist, and disability doula living on unceded Tiwa lands. They believe in poetry as a necessary tool for collective liberation and reclamation of bodily autonomy. Her work is rooted in healing, grief, joy, hope, and dreaming. In their writing, they center their lived experience, to connect and uplift disability-based systemic violence with global struggles against colonialism, white supremacy, and capitalism.
Zoë graduated from Oberlin College with a BA in Comparative American Studies, and a minor in Studio Art. She published her first book of poetry, [and time erodes like thunder], with Assure Press in 2020, and is featured in Wild Roof Journal, Blue Mesa Review, Saranac Review, In Between Spaces, a disability-centered anthology with Stillhouse Press, and more. They were selected by Carolina Ebeid as a runner up for the 2024 American Literary Review Poetry Award.