I listen to podcasts often when I am driving and when I am walking, I particularly love The Two Shot Podcast as this is actors or people who work in the arts chatting about their lives and what leads them to do what they do. 

 

I love it because it is a human story and I really love hearing the story behind the person, particularly creative people.

 

Often people we see and watch on our TV screen or in films have had difficult times in their lives and they talk very openly in the podcast about what they have overcome.

 

One of the people recently chatting was Lemn Sissay — who is a writer of plays and poems, and he is an actor, and has just published My Name is Why — a Memoir which tells his story, which is about neglect and determination, misfortune and hope, cruelty and triumph. It is literally his story.

 

In the podcast he spoke about his early life. He was born in England, his parents were Ethiopian and his mother who was on her own in a foreign country where she had travelled to from Ethiopia to study and work, put him into foster care. He was 17, after a childhood of foster care and care homes, when he was first given his birth certificate and he discovered his real name, as he had been given the name Norman Greenwood when first put into care.

 

Even though this was his experience, he speaks with humour and acceptance and love in the podcast and tells of how he has overcome the damaging side of his life through being creative. So he talks about the power of creativity, starting to write poems when he was 12 years old, and eventually dealing with things that had happened to him through writing a play to tell that part of his life. 

 

I know that a lot of people who struggle with mental health turn to writing to help them. Sometimes when actually verbalising feelings becomes too difficult and impossible, writing things down can help to release the sadness. It is also very difficult not to self-censor the spoken word for fear of being judged or upsetting someone, whereas the written word can simply be between you and the piece of paper … no-one else needs to see it unless you want them to. It allows a level of honesty that can sometimes be difficult to face if having to vocalise feelings and thoughts.

 

I have bought the book and looking forward to reading the story behind the podcast, but I can thoroughly recommend having a listen. Search out The Two Shot Podcast and you will be able to see all the people that have appeared on it … well worth it.