Millie Bridger

After chronic illness ended my dance career, I had to learn a new rhythm, one of stillness, resilience, and quiet joy. This piece shares how I found happiness again when everything changed.

A quiet shift in the air There’s a moment each year when you feel it before you see it, that faint sharpness in the air, the way your hands start to ache before the leaves have even finished falling. For many people, winter means cosy nights and twinkling lights. But for those of us living with chronic illness, it can mean something else entirely: heavier limbs, stiffer joints, slower digestion, fatigue that lingers like fog. While the world wraps itself in scarves and hurries forward, our...

There’s a strange kind of silence that follows the words “we don’t know.” When your life is ruled by appointments, test results, and symptoms that seem to change overnight, uncertainty becomes a constant companion. You learn to live in a world where plans crumble easily, where good days arrive without warning and bad days linger without mercy. Uncertainty isn’t just about the future, it’s about waking up and not knowing how your body will feel, how much you can do, or who you’ll be today. And...