But also as an artist, you know to be given the responsibility to play central leading characters, which is something that I struggled with here. Describing his daily lived experience, it's easy to see how an intelligent and thoughtful young man came to feel split in two, to the extent of having a complete breakdown. So to hear that you'd had such a hard time in your younger years, I was so upset for you, but to hear now that you're in such a good place and you're much happier than you have been, I'm delighted for you. I listened to the audio version which was beautifully read with some great notes of humour at times.

I've read a lot of memoirs and nonfiction books discussing my country's racist history and present, so it was interesting to see the perspective from a Black British man. Harewood was born on 8 December 1965 in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, the son of a couple from Barbados who had moved to England in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The love and care shown by his friends and above all by his mother protect him and nurture his recovery.

Maybe I Don't Belong Here is a deeply personal exploration of the duality of growing up both Black and British, recovery from crisis and a rallying cry to examine the systems and biases that continue to shape our society. Do you think we can address the statistics talked about in your book about Black oversaturation in the mental health system, if we don't address the legacy of - not just Monarchy because Parliament has had more power since around 1650 - but Britain and it's politics and it's history? In particular, Harewood came to understand the extent to which his psychosis and treatment were rooted in race, racism, and his sense of identity. Harewood began acting in 1990 and has appeared in The Hawk, Great Moments in Aviation, Harnessing Peacocks, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Blood Diamond, The Merchant of Venice and Strings.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. But,you know, as you get older you sort of become happy with yourself and you settle with yourself, and there's also the work I've done on myself.Brutally honest, brave and enlightening, David Harewood’s memoir and account of his breakdown is a fascinating read. From June to September 2010, he played Theseus in the premiere of Moira Buffini's play Welcome to Thebes at the National Theatre in London. 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. But in this book, Mr Harewood is able to articulate this experience in a way that I never thought it possible or even permissible to do.

So I usually ask this question last - I pretty much only interview Black people on my platform and I always finish with this question. 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. Black and British was longlisted for the Orwell Prize, shortlisted for the inaugural Jhalak Prize and won the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize. In this memoir, David Harewood is incredibly open when reflecting on his mental health and his experiences with psychosis. David Harewood’s book traces the effects of racial bigotry to a young boy growing up in 1970s Birmingham.Granted it’s a short book (235 pages) but I still stopped to look up some of the - OK all of the Birmingham places mentioned, and a few London ones. On 4 May 2012, he hosted a special BBC Radio 2 Friday Night is Music Night celebrating the life of Ray Charles, [47] broadcast live from Cheltenham Jazz Festival. And I try to tell this to all young kids that, you know, don't be afraid of failure, or don't be afraid of the hard times, the hard times, make you who you are. It'd be a criminal understatement to say that this book is a brave undertaking in sharing such a deeply personal and debilitating moment of one's life.