The UK’s underground dance scene was fast becoming a global phenomenon and legendary DJ Brandon Block was riding the wave. Even when his reckless hedonism led to hospitalisation, he continued to use drugs, deciding that if he was on his way out, he’d do so on a high. 

Somehow, Block managed to drag himself out of addiction and live not only to tell the tale, but to help others on a similar trajectory. In this issue’s Life After slot, he tells Positive News about the depths to which he plummeted and reveals what eventually persuaded him to turn things around.

Image: Sam Bush

Two million and counting – that’s the number of everyday heroes who have been trained to spot and report the telltale signs of exploitation by pioneering US-based charity Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT).

It was set up in 2009 by mother-of-four Lyn Leeburg, inspired by her experience growing up at a family-run motel in Texas. Her childhood taught her the extraordinary reach of the trucking industry, the dependability of its millions of professional drivers, and their potential to serve as the eyes and ears of America’s myriad highways, truck stops and gas stations. TAT features in our Three Good Things roundup this issue as one of a trio of unexpected alliances.

Image: Lyn Leeburg/TAT

In the months after his wife’s death from ovarian cancer, Sumit Paul-Choudhury found himself questioning what kind of person he was. “I was always vaguely aware I was an optimist, but it was more a fun quirk of my personality, rather than something central,” he reflects in an interview with us. “Then optimism helped me get through that experience, and the fact I decided to identify and act like an optimist helped me to be more optimistic and to direct my optimism.” 

He concedes that optimism isn’t everything, but it is seriously useful, argues Paul-Choudhury in his new book, The Bright Side. He draws on history, philosophy and science to make his case – as well as his own experience of grief following his wife’s death. Read more in the new issue. 

Image: Linda Nylind

One of the six case-studies in our Joyful Jobs cover story this issue, midwife Amina Hatia uses her nurturing instinct to help people flourish as parents via various roles in the NHS and charity sector. 

Back in her 20s, Hatia was heading for a career with the BBC as a broadcast journalist. She was already mum to her firstborn daughter, Saraa, following a pregnancy and birth which, she feels, were taken out of her hands. “I did what was expected of me,” she says. “It was OK, but I didn’t really know much about the world, or about myself, and I wasn’t really listened to.”

Her second pregnancy, however, would prove both inspirational and transformative. Says Hatia: “When my second daughter, Amber, was born, I had an amazing midwife, who made me feel so safe that I had a completely different birth experience. I was able to do it without needing pain relief, which was incredibly empowering. I felt like I could climb Mount Everest!

“I saw how having a positive birth experience can be absolutely lifechanging, and I remember thinking: ‘This is what I want to do with my life.’ I started midwifery training two years later.”

Hatia is particularly passionate about supporting disadvantaged parents and those whose native tongue is not English – and has even passed the baton on to her daughter.

Image: Sam Bush

In one small step for man, one giant leap for inclusivity, British Paralympian and orthopaedic surgeon John McFall has been cleared for take off as the world’s first astronaut with a disability.

McFall took up running after losing his right leg in a bike accident aged 19. He went on to win multiple medals for Great Britain in sprint events, but his latest endeavour looks set to rocket him from the running track to the International Space Station (ISS).

As we report in this issue’s news section, McFall says he feels “hugely proud”. “But this isn’t about me – this is way bigger than that,” he adds. “It’s my hope that if I get the chance to fly, we realise what we do in space – the things we learn, the problems we solve, the technology that we develop – has a trickle-down effect and benefits people here on Earth in wider society.”

Image: European Space Agency
Main image: Linda Nylind