Here's a taster of my story, to give some background as to how I move through the world and why I write what I write...

I am an immigrant - having moved to England from the US in 1993 (via a 9 month stint in Germany) - and the daughter of immigrants - who moved to the US from India in the 1960s. I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago, one of a small number of non-White, non-Judeo/Christian kids throughout my school years. While at university I had the good fortune to study for a year in England and travel around Europe. My academic passion was the combination of literature, culture and politics - how they all weave together and what they tell us about human relationships and dynamics.

I've worked for/with think tanks, a business-led quango for British Central Government set up to advise on the Welfare to Work system, and a range of charities and policy advocacy organisations - including a national Black (effectively meaning 'non-White') organisation. I've supported people/organsiations in research, buidling networks, setting policy advocacy agendas, influencing decision-makers, and creating partnerships with very diverse stakeholder groups. I've worked closely with local and national campaigners, public service providers, senior business leaders, senior civil servants, and established human rights leaders.

As a result of my professional experience, I have acquired first-hand understanding of what it is to grapple with anger, fear, and extreme frustration in the workplace. I have had to work with cynics who thought what I was doing/talking about was a waste of time. I've had to work with people who were defensive, arrogant, and dismissive. I have been with people who I thought were on the same side as me, only to have them shoot me down in a meeting or ignore the 'special' interests I was bringing to the table. I know what it is like to feel undervalued. I know what it is like to lack confidence, to be afraid to walk into a meeting.

I've been the colleague who has been bullied. I have faced ethical dilemmas - been in positions where I was uncomfortable because it felt as though I was being asked to behave in ways that went against my values. At the same time, in one stage of my career, I started to become the person who did the bullying - not in a straightforward or conscious way, but through tone of voice, impatience, and aggression.

Work has not only been a matter of survival, however. I've also experienced thriving. I have shrugged off fear and ego to demonstrate moral courage. I have been in roles where I've ventured to take other types of risks, such as striking out into unknown territory and challenging the approaches of established leaders in the field. I've brought warring factions/groups into partnership. I've been told that I've energised and inspired people to keep pushing forward.

My personal life - which, of course, has always been entwined with my professional life - has similarly been a mixture of surviving and thriving. Through the 'down-times', I've come to understand deeply the challenges we can face in seeking to expand ourselves in order to move and think more freely and creatively. The most powerful lessons I have learned are rooted in my experiences of being physically and mentally broken and constrained. In 2003, I was in an accident where I literally broke my back - the NHS surgeons thankfully fused it back together. The recovery journey took about five years, usually taking a few steps forward, a few steps back and like that progressing slowly over time. In the course of my life, I've experienced periods of severe depression and anxiety. As with my back recovery, moving through these dark periods required patience,  the acceptance of incremental progress, and a shift in attitude. In both situations, I had to focus less on what was going wrong and lacking and more on what was going right and able to grow - physically and mentally. I needed strong discipline, perserverence and self-belief.

These physical and mental health-related experiences connected me deeply with the meanings of both strength and vulnerability. They showed me what works when it comes to nurturing and opening up our selves and others. They've instructed me in the arts of compassion and empathy - and their vital importance. They've transformed me from being someone who never seemed to stop talking and often did so rather loudly to someone who relishes the practice of active-listening, does regular meditation, and values silence as an important part of dialogue. They've taught me about self-respect and responsibility.

What I have loved the most about my life is that I've repeatedly had - and successfully taken up - the opportunity to increase my self-awareness, overcome odds stacked against me, build bridges from what looked liked piles of rubble.  I have come to value immensely my relationships. I have relied on the support and encouragement of others to navigate the rocky terrains in life. My life - as is everybody's - is a collaborative endeavour. Sure, we all have aspects of our journeys we walk alone - but that is not to say we are alone.

And it certainly isn't all hardship.  I'm constantly enjoying the beautiful dance of giving, receiving and creating in the different communities I inhabit. My life experience has certainly taught me that we are all connected and interdependent. Together we can be amazing - and I seek to make the most of this reality!