Personal essays · Speaking · Help Me Hope
Ali Blackmon
Personal essays on the brutal beauty of being alive and what it takes to survive it.
Life saved by organ donation.
Founder, Help Me Hope.
Selected writing
Alive, Anyway
Explore the essay archivePersonal essays on the brutal beauty of being alive and what it takes to survive it.
When Freedom Feels Like Freefall
On the unfamiliar freedom that arrives when survival no longer organizes the day.
Read the essayI Did All That Surviving. Now What?
The uncomfortable work of discovering what comes after getting through.
Read the essayAll the Funny Things People Say
An encounter on a bus, the things people say, and the distance between intention and understanding.
Read the essayKeep reading.
Find new essays and the archive at Alive, Anyway. Subscribe there to receive the writing.
Visit Alive, AnywayAbout the writer
A life, in words.
Ali Blackmon is a personal essayist, speaker, and the founder of Help Me Hope. Her independent writing began in October 2016, and she has spoken publicly since May 2019.
Her public writing began years before her organ transplant. Earlier work appeared under the name Ali Dugger, including the blog The Girl with Glass Feet. Type 1 diabetes complications, Charcot foot, disability, kidney failure, dialysis, and a kidney-pancreas transplant are important chapters in her life. Her life was saved by organ donation. Transplant and survival are not the boundaries of her work.
Today, Alive, Anyway is the home of her personal essays. Ali also speaks and is the founder of Help Me Hope, an organization advancing the science of hope.
Previously known online and published under Ali Dugger. This is the current home of Ali Blackmon's writing, speaking, and public work.
Speaking & conversation
Bring the conversation into the room.
Ali brings her writing, lived experience, and work on the science of hope to talks, interviews, and conversations.
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Conversations worth having
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Finding meaning in ordinary life
The surprising and familiar moments that change how we see. -
Hope and perspective
How lived experience can open a different way of seeing. -
Writing and lived experience
Lived experience, emotional precision, and recognition.
A conversation begins with your audience.
For keynotes, moderated conversations, podcast interviews, and audience Q&As, share your event, audience, dates, and format.
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Conversations from the archive.
Selected interviews and coverage from Ali Blackmon’s public history. Earlier appearances were published under Ali Dugger, her former public name.
Type1Strong · May 2025 · Feature by Ginger Vieira
Fighting to Survive Type 1 Diabetes: Ali’s Journey to a Pancreas Transplant
A reported feature about Ali’s experience with diabetes complications, dialysis, and a kidney-pancreas transplant.
The Healthy Diabetic · June 6, 2025 · Interview
Diabetes Complexities Are Real: Ali Dugger
Diabetes Nerd · Interview
Ali's Fight to Live
An earlier conversation about diabetes and transplantation. The linked episode retains its original title.
Founder
Help Me Hope
Advancing the science of hope.
Ali founded Help Me Hope to advance the science of hope. Drawing on established research, the nonprofit is developing programs, digital applications, and practical tools to strengthen hope for individuals, organizations, and institutions. This work is in development and is not yet publicly available. Explore the mission and work in progress on the organization’s website.
Visit Help Me HopeGet in touch
Writing. Speaking. A conversation.
For writing opportunities, interviews, press, or speaking engagements, use the contact form. For organizational partnerships, connect directly with Help Me Hope.