A moment that changed me: I heard people sneer at me – and my mummy guilt turned to anger
When I took my daughter to work I was criticised, just as I was when I left her at home. In time, I realised my children’s opinions are the only ones that matter
A moment that changed me: I joined some refugees for a game of football – and found my mission in life
As a former asylum seeker, I knew the difficulties these children would face in the US. First I helped them form a team, then I fought to give them an education
A moment that changed me: I had a heart attack at 37 – so I went to live in a cave
I wanted to heal and thought the Colorado wilderness was the best place to do it. So I began six months of hunting and foraging, with a pile of leaves for a bed
A moment that changed me: 50 years after my grandparents were expelled from Uganda, I visited their old home
I grew up thousands of miles away, hearing stories of the family bungalow in Kampala and of Idi Amin, the dictator who had driven us out of it. What kind of welcome would I find there?
A moment that changed me: the mystery teenage illness that ruined my life – then saved it
One morning I couldn’t get out of bed, and the tiredness and weight gain kept getting worse. It was a year of bodily trauma that left psychological as well as physical scars
A moment that changed me: my wife and I had resolved to marry 22 times. Her death was devastating
We were only four weddings into an art project to champion equal rights for LGBTQ+ people. But at least on paper I was able to finish the project – and keep her memory alive
A moment that changed me: I was outraged by the risks facing my children – so we moved to the country
Black Caribbean people born in the UK have a higher chance of schizophrenia, and city life is a factor. So when a chance came to live in Somerset, I leapt at it
A moment that changed me: my teacher went totally off script – and opened a door for my life to flow through
A year of rote learning had sucked the joy out of my last days at school. Then came a speech that taught me an unforgettable lesson about curiosity and growth
A moment that changed me: my parents had a dinner party – and it inspired me to find and feed new friends
Locked down in London, I was lonely and underfed. I longed for the communal meals at my Mum and Dad’s home in Delhi, so I embarked on some disastrous and delicious dinners of my own