As an adult, I was always expecting bad things to happen. These yellowing images reminded me of a time when they had

The disappointment was fairly crushing as a kid. But I wouldn’t swap Daniel Radcliffe’s £95m fortune for my happily anonymous teenage years

During her pregnancy she taught me so much about resilience, self-reliance and strength. It inspired me to veer off the reckless path I was on

To lose a parent when you are disabled is a particular kind of grief. When my father died, my sense of safety was ripped away

When an eye condition left me blind at 21, I went from being confident and outgoing to bad-tempered and distrustful. But a joke gave me a new perspective

One minute we were relaxing in a cafe, the next we were hiding in the bathroom, convinced we were going to be shot. At least we were not alone

Five years on, I still struggle to see beyond my flaws. But I know that I once did a very good thing

I left school at 14 and became a builder, but I had always wanted to work in the music industry. Setting up the festival proved harder and more rewarding than I ever expected

I had gulped down oysters despite my deep dislike of them for years. Suddenly I knew the pretence had to end

Two years into a seven-year degree, I walked away. Now I no longer feel the need to deny my working-class background or change my accent to fit in

I felt huge guilt and shame for not having had a chance to say goodbye or appreciating his presence more. Then I saw footage of the whole family together …

It was awkward. I had just mistaken some hand cream for soap. But when I was asked to join a veterans’ football team, aged 35, I surprised myself

The grip of my shoes was nonexistent and I skidded as I ran for the tube. I threw my arm through the closing doors. For a second, I felt completely disembodied

Sexualising my lower digits was bad enough. To be given the equivalent of a pat on the head and told ‘nice try’ was an indignity too far

After a season of loss and sadness, scuba diving had brought me some peace. When the beast burst out of the wreckage to join me, it provided an invaluable lesson in perspective

When I boarded the train at Beijing I felt timid, a cautious traveller. But a chaotic and vodka-soaked party set me off on a very different path

My first and only proper relationship ended the day after Princess Diana died. There followed years of dalliances and situationships, before I realised something crucial about myself

I had felt self-conscious for so long, but then I held my breath and put my head underwater. It was the start of a slow, determined journey back to my own body

After cancer, my health anxieties kept me awake at night. But when a marauding moose put paid to our well, our only source of water, I felt my mindset shift

She hadn’t lived in India for 50 years, but her last request was to be returned to the place of her birth. On the banks of the Ganges there were tears – but also all the chaos, hustle and humour of life