We start series two of Fear Itself with guest Corporal Andy Reid MBE. In October 2009, Andy was blown up by a Taliban improvised explosive device while on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Injured so badly that it was thought he would not survive, he defied the odds to the extent that within a month he was able to meet up with members of his patrol again.

What he has achieved since then is little short of unbelievable. Andy is now a successful writer, has opened a café in his local town, has gotten married, had 2 children, and is in demand as a public speaker on coping with adversity. Andy also established the charity The Standing Tall foundation, which hopes to provide ground level interventions across a wide portfolio of causes, by direct support or supporting the work of other organisations and charities.

I had coffee with Andy in London, and what was meant to be an hour's meeting ended up being three. Andy is a true hero, and his story is one of enormous hope that has inspired so many. We talk about his fears around not being accepted, people having assumptions and being pigeonholed in society. I wanted to know where Andy gets his positivity, strength and humour from and what keeps him going. He says "The most important thing is don't look back on what has happened. Instead look forward to what you can do."

Andy is one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. This episode is not sponsored, but if you would like to support The Standing Tall Foundation by visiting www.standingtall.co.uk or donating to their latest campaign at www.gofundme.com/manage/wellbeing-in-the-woods-programme

** This episode was recorded remotely due to coronavirus**

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