Happy Place - Ashley John-Baptiste: Rejection, aspirations, and a lack of hugs

Ashley John-Baptiste: Rejection, aspirations, and a lack of hugs

Explicit content warning

06/03/24 • 55 min

3 Listeners

Happy Place

How big do you let yourself dream? BBC broadcaster Ashley John-Baptise grew up in care, and knows all too well that love can help cultivate aspiration.

In this chat with Fearne, Ashley talks through his childhood, from being bounced between foster parents and care homes, to ending up with a history degree from Cambridge University.

He explains how he became a colder and more detached child as protection against constant rejection. Ashley also talks about the very real impact not having access to touch and attachment to a primary care giver can have on a person’s future outcomes.

Fearne and Ashley chat about the huge influence kind and persistent adults can have over a child’s life. You don’t have to be a parent to positively impact a child; teaching, mentoring, and community work will make a huge difference to an individual, and as a result, society too...

Ashley’s memoir, Looked After, is out on June 13th.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How big do you let yourself dream? BBC broadcaster Ashley John-Baptise grew up in care, and knows all too well that love can help cultivate aspiration.

In this chat with Fearne, Ashley talks through his childhood, from being bounced between foster parents and care homes, to ending up with a history degree from Cambridge University.

Ashley’s memoir, Looked After, is out on June 13th.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Molly McCann: Therapy, combat sports, and menstrual cycles

Being deep in the middle of therapy can be draining. Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete Molly McCann has been working hard to understand her more toxic traits and behaviours, and her vulnerability has made her a stronger fighter.

In this chat with Fearne, Molly talks about how she’s learnt not to fear failure, and how to overcome self-sabotage, as well as the very physical way her trauma has been released. She explains how she knew she wanted to break her family’s pattern of addiction too.

Fearne and Molly also chat about the movement towards female athletes taking their menstrual cycle into consideration during training, and the fickleness of fandom – how we put people on a pedestal only to tear them down again. How can we learn to seek internal rather than external validation?

Molly McCann returns to the Octagon for UFC® 304: Edwards vs Muhammad 2. Tickets for UFC® 304 go on sale at 10am BST on Friday, 7th June via Ticketmaster.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

An exclusive first glimpse at Fearne's novel: your questions answered

Fearne’s written a novel! It’s called Scripted, and it tells the story of Jade – a thirty-something who, out on a run, stumbles upon a script that seems to predict likely scenarios and relationship dynamics in her life. Having been given a sneak peek at her future, can Jade now speak up, and rewrite her own destiny?

You’ve been DMing and voicenoting Fearne, asking her questions about the writing process, who inspired her characters, and whether she’s included her wealth of mental health knowledge in the novel...

Plus, there’s an exclusive listen to the entire first chapter of the Scripted audiobook!

Scripted is out now.

The audiobook, read by Erin Doherty, and brought to you by Penguin is also available: https://adbl.co/3U7EP1P

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.