Research has identified the collective experiences of oppression, stigma and isolation in the lives of people with learning disabilities. Against the backdrop of social and cultural processes that shape and limit the life experiences of people with learning disabilities, the authors are interested in how the individual develops a sense of self and identity. The aim is to further understand the subjective world of one woman with learning disabilities, drawing attention to how meaning about herself and her world has been constructed. The authors present and analyse one woman's life story, adopting a narrative and participatory research approach, with its focus on personal experience, whilst making links between the individual and social world.