Sunday morning church has been part of my routine for thirty years, and I know it well enough to access most of it without thinking. But there are things I've quietly accepted I can't do - and today I decided to test whether the glasses could change that.

The song lyrics - no luck. I've always relied on memory to sing along, especially with newer songs I haven't learned yet. I sit in the second row, right in front of a huge screen, and I still can't make out the words on it. I asked Meta to read the screen, hoping it might help - it picked up my voice fine, even with the music and noise around me, which was different from my restaurant experience. But it only captures a single image at a time, and the lyrics change too fast for that to be useful. So that one didn't work, but I'm glad I tried it.

The weekly notices - this one worked. During the break, when the notices come up on screen, I was able to ask Meta what it said and actually take in dates, times, and what's happening across the week and the month ahead - on my own, for the first time, without someone standing up to read it out. Some information was missing, probably down to the different fonts used across the slides, but it was a genuinely good result.

The daily devotional - mixed. I normally use a digital app for this because physical books and devotionals aren't accessible to me without a magnifier or a photo - something I miss, since I used to be able to just sit and read a physical book before my eyesight deteriorated. The glasses could read a single printed Bible verse just fine, but couldn't get through the full devotional text on the page. I'm not sure yet if that's a technique issue on my end or a real limit, but for now, reading a book this way isn't quite there.

Where I've landed: a real mix of pros and cons today. I'm trying to keep perspective - these glasses aren't restoring my sight or changing how I move through the world completely. But they are making small parts of my life a little easier, and things I genuinely couldn't do before, I can now. I'm counting that as a win.

Email: [email protected]

I knew this was going to be a full day out - a gallery visit, then dinner -so plenty of chances to really put the glasses through their paces.

On the way there, I wore the glasses for the drive to properly test the transition lenses against the dark sunglasses I'm used to. Honestly, I didn't notice a huge difference in brightness. I was able to listen to a podcast quietly while still hearing my husband talk, which was nice. I also tried asking Meta to read the number plate of the car in front of us - no luck. It recognised it was a UK plate but couldn't make out the detail, probably because of the distance.

The gallery was the highlight of my day. I've always been limited in galleries by not being able to read the wall text - the context that tells you what you're actually looking at, why it was made, the history behind it. After a small hiccup reconnecting to the venue's WiFi, I asked the glasses to read a large information board, and for the first time I was taking in an exhibition's context from the very start. One moment really got me: a piece was displayed with its description on the wall behind me. I got the glasses to capture the text, then turned back around and looked at the artwork itself while it was read aloud to me. I left that gallery feeling like I'd had a genuinely deeper experience than I've had in a long time.

The restaurant was a different story. Normally I need someone to read the menu for me, and I'll admit I often just order something familiar rather than ask. I really hoped I'd be able to read independently this time. But the restaurant was loud, and Meta couldn't pick up my voice reliably enough to respond. That was disappointing- a genuine limit, not just a teething problem I can shrug off.

What I'm taking from today: a real high and a real limitation, in the same day. That's exactly what this series is meant to capture.

Contact: [email protected]

The first three entries in the 100 Days to Clarity series, covering the lead-up to actually starting the trial: trying the glasses on, buying them, and getting them set up.

Day Zero: Trying them on.

I visit the store to try the Meta Ray-Bans for the first time, feeling apprehensive about explaining my needs to the shop assistant. Handed a leaflet I would normally have no way to read without a magnifier or my phone camera, I ask the glasses to read it aloud and I describe the moment as overwhelming, close to tears, at finally being able to just hold a piece of paper and access it like anyone else.

I also test the glasses on wall posters with the same result. I leave the store without even checking how the glasses look on me, already thinking about the technology's potential and planning to bring my husband back to ask the questions I hadn't thought to.

Day One: Buying them.

I return with clearer questions and try on different styles and lens options. With no prescription, I choose transition lenses (light-reactive between outdoor glare and indoor use) in the Headliner style, black frames. I test reading an optician's card of varying font sizes, the glasses read down to the second-smallest line and I learn about the other features on offer: photo, video, music, and translation. I buy the glasses, in a case that doubles as a charger.

Day Two: Setting them up.

The real starting point of daily use. Setup involves a QR code, the Meta companion app, and because small zoomed-in phone text is hard for me to navigate independently, some help from my husband. I note the setup isn't fully complete yet, but enough to begin. First real test: music, played through the glasses' speakers, which let me hear my surroundings at the same time, a safety advantage over noise-cancelling headphones on walks. One caveat: people nearby can hear the music too, depending on volume.

Also in this episode:

• The reminder that this series reflects my personal experience with my own visual impairment, not a universal recommendation
• An invitation to get in touch if you're using, or considering, similar technology yourself

Get in touch: [email protected]

For the first time in years, I walked into an art gallery and was able to interact with the artwork the way sighted visitors can, reading the descriptions, the artist's own words, all of it.

Don't Miss Her Ability is back after a three-year break, relaunched under Twelve Episodes, my podcast coaching business. In this episode, I reintroduces the show, built from the start around the achievements and strengths of women with disabilities and share my own story of being diagnosed with a visual impairment in her mid-teens.

I also explain what's brought the podcast back now: the recent wave of AI smart glasses, and the mixed, often heated conversation around them. Setting the debate aside, I heard several blind and visually impaired people describe real, daily-life independence from wearing them, enough to make me want to try a pair myself and document the experience, unfiltered, over the 100-day trial period.

This launches 100 Days to Clarity: an honest, in-real-time journal of using AI-powered smart glasses while living with low vision, not a sponsored review, not a highlight reel, but a warts-and-all record of what actually helps, what doesn't, and what changes (or doesn't) over 100 days.

In this episode:

• My own experience with low vision, and the assistive technology I already rely on day to day
• Why I decided to try AI smart glasses, and what I'm hoping to find out
• What listeners can expect from the 100 Days to Clarity series and how often new entries will drop
• How to get involved if you're trying similar technology yourself

A note on this series: I am not being sponsored for this series. I'm already about a week into using the glasses, so the next few episodes will cover Days 1–6 before entries settle into a regular few-times-a-week rhythm.

Get in touch: Trying these glasses yourself, or thinking about it? I want to hear from you - whatever your level of vision or disability.

Email your questions or your own story to [email protected].

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so new entries land in your feed as they drop.

100 Days to Clarity: Why I'm Testing Smart Glasses for Low Vision

Don't Miss Her Ability is back. In this relaunch episode, I introduce a new series, 100 Days to Clarity , a real-time, unfiltered journal of living with low vision, tracking my 100-day trial of a pair of AI-powered smart glasses for the visually impaired.

I share why I'm doing this: what I want to find out about how this assistive technology can help me, and hopefully other women navigating disability, move through the world with more independence and why the short clips and one-off testimonials already online aren't the full picture.

In this episode:

• Why Don't Miss Her Ability is relaunching under Twelve Episodes
• What 100 Days to Clarity is and how the series will run
• What to expect over the next 100 days

New entries release a few times a week.

Come for the tech, stay for the story.

https://www.herabilityco.com/

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There are some days when living with a disability can make us feel as though our ability to choose has been taken from us. I use a piece of artwork by Harry Roseland to help me remember that choices are available to me.

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If you have been thinking lately that you don't have anything to offer because of your disability or the particular challenge you face, then this week's episode of the podcast may just help you start to change your mind and look at things a little differently.

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If you have been thinking lately that you don't have anything to offer because of your disability or the particular challenge you face, then this week's episode of the podcast may just help you start to change your mind and look at things a little differently.

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If you spend a lot of time thinking that you always have to prove what you are capable of doing because of your disability or challenge - this week's episode is for you.

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