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In these five specially commissioned essays, Kerry Hudson explores the kindness of strangers - how tiny encounters (and larger actions) have turned the tide repeatedly in desperate circumstances.

They encompass topics such as the psychology of kindness in childhood, the vulnerability of travelling alone in places with troubled histories, how Kerry had to learn to rely on the strangers working in an underfunded health service in a foreign country while suffering from a life-threatening illness, the perils of life on the water and the generosities of the boating community experienced whilst living on a canal boat, and how kindness can sometimes come with unexpected caveats and conditions depending on what you look like and where you are from.

Born in Aberdeen, Kerry Hudson grew up in poverty and fear, in a succession of council estates, B&Bs and caravan parks with a single parent mother who suffered from challenging mental ill-health, compounded by addiction.

Kerry's first novel, Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, was published in July 2012 and was shortlisted for eight literary prizes, including the Guardian First Book Award and Green Carnation Prize, and won Scottish First Book of the Year. Kerry's second novel, Thirst, was developed with support from the National Lottery through an Arts Council England grant, and published in July 2014 before being shortlisted for the Green Carnation Prize. Her first work of non-fiction, Lowborn (2019) became a Times bestseller and was hailed as ‘One of the most important books of the year’ by The Guardian. A follow-up to Lowborn, titled Newborn, was published in February 2024.

Written and Read by Kerry Hudson
Commissioned and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4