In her new memoir, Unseen, Molly Burke takes fans behind the scenes to reveal what her YouTube channel never aired. In a candid conversation with Kate Stevenson, she reflects on her journey
At the age of 14, Molly Burke lost her vision. But that wasn’t the hard part. That came after: the friends who disappeared, the pitying looks from strangers, and the hurtful feeling of being left behind.
“The only thing that changed was how I did things,” explains Molly. “But the rest of society stopped seeing me. They just saw my blindness.”
UNIMAGINABLE
Today, Molly is anything but unseen. With more than five million social media followers, she’s spoken on global stages like the UN, worked with brands including Dove, Samsung, and Google, and become one of the world’s most visible disability advocates.
More than that, Molly’s become the role model she needed when she was younger: “I grew up watching pristine beauty vloggers on YouTube,” she recalls. “Meanwhile, I was losing my sight, dealing with suicidal ideation, and feeling completely alone.”
So Molly built something that didn’t exist: “I didn’t have a blueprint because there were no big disabled influencers when I started. I was just trying to be myself,” she admits. “But suddenly, I was representing disability.”
That pressure hit hard at first: from praise and expectations to a backlash. “Some people want independence and strength. Others want vulnerability and openness. I can’t be both at once,” she points out.
UNSTOPPABLE
Molly’s influence goes beyond what you see online. Her advocacy has impacted everything from product packaging to inclusive hiring practices. “If I preach inclusion, I have to embody it,” she adds, revealing that every creative hired for the cover shoot of her book Unseen was disabled. “That wasn’t a publicity stunt. That should be the standard.”
It’s the same for the online content she creates: “If I can’t consume it, I don’t post it,” she says. “My content has to start with my community.” Molly prioritises audio storytelling and ensures captions, alt text, and design choices are accessible to her blind and low-vision audience.
She’s carried that same ethos into the physical edition of Unseen, which features Braille, metallic foil, high contrast design, dyslexia-friendly fonts, and tactile elements. “I hope it feels like a love letter to the disabled reader,” she smiles. “So often, accessibility is seen as boring or secondary. I wanted to prove it can be intentional, elevated, and beautiful.”
NOT INVISIBLE
She hopes this approach reaches her younger audience, who may feel scared or invisible, like she did. “Growing up, I had no representation. There was no one like me. Feeling that alone is something I don’t want anybody to ever feel,” she reflects.
Above all, Molly wants to inspire readers to challenge themselves. “If you never see a representation of yourself, you don’t know how to succeed. No one’s shown you it’s possible. But, whatever your dream is, you can find a way to make it happen.”