This week on A Thread of One’s Own, Theo Clarke is joined by former Cabinet Minister Sajid Javid to discuss his moving and deeply personal memoir, The Colour of Home.
Together they explore Sajid’s childhood, from his family’s experience of Partition to growing up in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s. They discuss the experiences that shaped his journey from a childhood marked by hardship to the highest levels of public life, reflecting on family, identity, education, ambition and the challenges of writing an honest memoir. Above all, they consider what it means to find a sense of home and belonging.
Topics discussed on the show include: writing memoir after public life; the legacy of Partition and immigration; growing up in Britain as the child of Punjabi immigrants; racism and belonging in the 1970s and 1980s; education as a route out of poverty; resilience and ambition; family expectations, love and independence; breaking into the world of finance; public service and politics; and what “home” means today.
About Sajid Javid
Sajid Javid was a Member of the British Parliament from May 2010 to July 2024. During his political career, he served in the Cabinets of three Prime Ministers and led six major government departments, including the Treasury and the Home Office. Most recently, he served as Secretary of State for Health during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He has since returned to the business world and also serves as Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
Resources
📖 The Colour of Home: A Memoir of Race, Belonging and Britain
About the Host
Theo Clarke is a bestselling author, podcaster and former Member of Parliament. She hosts A Thread of One’s Own, a podcast and Substack exploring books, writing and the creative life through conversations with leading authors. Her memoir Breaking the Taboo was shortlisted for the Westminster Book Awards.
Host and Producer: Theo Clarke
Editor: Adam Woodward
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social media: Eleanor Flavin
