Audio Description

Tracy’s Selby Connection

A journey from Hull to Devon to Selby, finding her place and her role as a disability advocate.

Tracy’s Selby Story

Hull – The First Thread

I was born on the edge of the river
in a city stitched with salt air and stories.
Hull was comfort and pride,
and the feeling of being held by something familiar.

My earliest memories are soft-edged;
the warmth of my dad’s carpet shop,
the hush of wool and colour,
the way it felt like standing inside a storybook.

He died when I was eight,
but the flying carpet stayed.
Not an object but a memory to fold into my pocket,
a way to carry him
from one chapter of my life to the next.

And when I left Hull for a new job,
the strongest thing I felt wasn’t fear.
It was hope.
A quiet, steady contentment
that whispered, “Go. There’s more for you.”

Devon – Grounding & the Sea

When I arrived in Devon,
it was the feeling that told me I’d crossed into a new chapter.
The air was different.
Softer. A little wilder.
The sea nearby lived its life loudly.
Waves that taught, waves that marked,
waves that healed.

Work grew me.
Colleagues became friends.
And the blind community,
the one I resisted for so long,
opened a door I didn’t know I needed.

Then Mardle came.
Guide dog. Companion.
Keeper of trust and independence.
With him beside me, the world felt larger,
safer,
more possible.

Not everything was calm.
There were storms,
especially around my son’s education.
But even storms can teach strength,
and we learned how to bend
without breaking.

Devon became a grounding place
a pause,
a deep breath,
a time of discovering new edges of myself.

The Magnet North

But even grounding places aren’t forever.
Something inside me began to shift,
a magnet humming beneath the ribs,
a call that said,
“It’s time to go home.”

Not back to Hull,
not quite.
But close.
Close enough to family,
close enough to belonging,
close enough to start again.

Selby was a name I’d only seen on train boards.
A place passed through,
not entered.

But when we chose it,
my whole body said, “Yes”
a quiet, brave “yes”
to something new
that was also somehow familiar.

Selby – The Calling

My first memory here is warmth.
People who smiled.
A town that opened itself without fuss.
A hidden gem that didn’t need to shout
to feel like home.

The pandemic hit,
and everything turned upside down
but strangely, it rooted me deeper.
The need was huge.
The work was relentless.
But I could help people,
really help them.

I built the community service
I’d always dreamed of,
and somehow it bloomed
right when people needed it most.

Selby’s voice, when it speaks to me
sounds like this
“You belong here.
You’ve already played your part.
And there is still more for you.”

Even now,
the carpet hovers,
the compass trembles,
the magnet hums.

The Compass Turning

This stage of life is an in-between.
My youngest has flown,
my work may shift,
and midlife feels like a doorway
into something I haven’t named yet.

The compass spins slowly,
gently adjusting,
pointing toward possibilities
I can almost feel but not yet see.

There is a calling toward deeper healing,
toward finding myself again
after years of being many things
to many people.

And I am listening.

Character Sketch