Louise LePage was in her 30s when she did her MA in Drama and Performance (University College Dublin) and fell in love with academia and performance. Immediately afterwards she undertook a PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, where she was also a Teaching Fellow. She has since held positions at University of Reading and University of York.

In this episode we explore the challenges of navigating academia whilst managing a chronic illness like ME/CFS.

Louise reflects honestly on her own lived experiences and offers tips on self-advocacy, managing expectations, and taking an active role in shaping your PhD

She explains how finding a supportive supervisor can be a game changer and talks about the role of community and acceptance.

Louise also offers golden advice for managing deadlines.

Louise’s YouTube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/@FiftyShadesofTired1971

Louise recommends Facebook groups relating to the work of Dr Sarah Myhill and the

Long Covid & ME/CFS healing through Creativity group.

You can read the transcript of this episode here: thephdliferaft.com

If you would like a useful weekly email to support you on your PhD journey you can sign up for ‘Notes from the Life Raft’ here: https://mailchi.mp/f2dce91955c6/notes-from-the-life-raft