A groundbreaking account of the effects of everyday racism on the identity and mental health of Black British men, explored through the lens of Homeland and Supergirl actor David Harewood’s personal experience. So the first of those is, you spoke about how, in your younger years, as you were starting out, the reviews would refer to you as a black actor. How he managed to get back out there in a community that has so much trouble with accepting black people is astonishing.

Taking into account your kind of experience growing up not seeing someone like you in entertainment, does the idea that young boys, young girls might see you on screen and not feel a question of can I belong here? Even with those of us who were born elsewhere and chose to live in the UK, and contribute positively (my self to the NHS), there is inherent blindness to the need to be inclusive and ‘see’ and ‘value’ people. Strange to be doing it all on Zoom again, it would be nice to be sitting down somewhere drinking alcohol but it's good. This is another one but does not have the power or erudition that I have noticed in my consumption of recent reads. The way he describes the risky games he played with his siblings when very young you’d think we were bought up in the same household.In 2008, he played Major Simon Brooks in The Palace; he also appeared (that December) on Celebrity Mastermind, with specialist subject Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. His acting career is fascinating and although I didn't always follow who he was acting for or all of the people he worked with I honestly felt like I got to know him in this book and what an absolute pleasure it was. It also delves right into the gritty prejudice that so many un-oppressed groups find it uncomfortable to acknowledge and confront, which I think is super important. I particularly wanted to read this as it's rare to hear about the black experience from a British perspective, and it was clear from interviews that Harewood had been both eloquent and brave in sharing his story. Nowadays social services would be involved for far less than being shoved on top of the wardrobe in the dark for the sake of hide and seek (me) or hurling yourself down the stairs (Harewood).

David speaks honestly about racism, mental health and how the two can connect and give people a fractured identity as it makes them feel like they do not belong in their own country. He appeared in the BBC film adaptation of the Philip Pullman novels The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North, both of which are titles from the Sally Lockhart Mysteries. I would like to thank David Harewood for providing such an honest, open, and raw account of his mental health struggles in his early 20's and the journey it taken him on.Its haunting to read the disparity between care and the casual racism and discrimination that goes on in the mental health system and some of the statistics shocked me. That Harewood, during his first psychotic episode, heard the voice of Martin Luther King telling him to head to Camden, north London, at 3am on a mission to close the spiritual gap between good and evil has everything to do with the post-racial vision of the famous “I have a dream” speech.

And perhaps it's not - these last 10 days haven't been the time to express it and dig into it, because people are obviously upset and very emotional. His fortitude and the courage to revisit that period and all it entailed are quietly heroic; hearing him tell his own story with such generosity makes this a memorable listen. He was sectioned under the Mental Health Act, [36] spent time on the Whittington Hospital psychiatric ward, and was prescribed the antipsychotic drug chlorpromazine. Still, this book is key in getting the conversation going and in showing that identity and mental health are deeply intertwined.In spite of the difficult topic, there is an underlying message and feeling of hope that resonates throughout. About the Author: David Harewood OBE is an actor and presenter best known for starring roles in Homeland, Supergirl, The Night Manager, Blood Diamond, Criminal Justice and Ten Per Cent. In October 2013, Harewood voiced an interactive video campaign for the British Lung Foundation aiming to ban smoking in cars with children on board in the United Kingdom.