What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic
A podcast series presenting true-life stories of migration to the UK, offering a platform for voices often drowned out by anti-immigrant rhetoric. Each episode explores richly rewarding personal narratives that complicate and broaden the idea of what it means to be British. Based on an oral history project, the series draws from contributions that will also be published as a book by Jonathan Cape in 2026.
Episodes
Mimi Khalvati
Mimi Khalvati came to the UK from Iran as a child and has turned her home into a museum with memorabilia and artifacts from her family. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Orna
Orna is an actor who was born in Israel and moved to the US as a child before relocating to the UK. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Hani Arnaout
Hani tells his story of how after years of suffering under the Assad regime in Syria, he and his family found safety in Devon. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Sana Nassari
The poet and translator Sana Nassari talks about her fear of leaving artifacts behind in Iran to come to the UK. Sana is also an art collector whom her mother used to tease was a ‘collector of useless things'. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Mehredad
Originally from Iran, Mehredad says he feels the UK is welcoming, like a mother hen that takes all the chicks under her wings. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Vayu Naidu
Exposed to brand names like Lipton Tea and Cadbury Chocolate as a child, Vayu Naidu already felt a familiarity with Britain on arriving here from India. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Lord Bhikhu Parekh
Lord Bhikhu Parekh, who left India in 1959 to study in the UK, reflects on the benefits of multiculturalism. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Angelika Hell
Angelika Hell describes her relationship with the UK which has remained complicated twenty-five years after she left her home in Italy. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Denai Moore
The artist, singer and chef Denai Moore yearns for the sense of belonging that she has only felt back home in Jamaica. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Eleftheria
Eleftheria came to the UK from Crete and is still battling with the relationship between Greece and her adopted country. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Helina Tesega
Having journeyed to the UK from Ethiopia via China, Helina Tesega notices the different ways multiculturalism can be interpreted. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Joana Rodrigues
Joana Rodrigues still can't comprehend why British people voted for Brexit, especially as she loves England so much. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Nina Ramzan
Nina Ramzan, who qualified as a doctor, recalls leaving her home in Ukraine a decade ago before the Russian invasion. She found a new home in Cardiff in Wales and has since helped her mother and others to migrate. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Sherwin Acebuche
Sherwin Acebuche describes how he has wrestled with the tension of his dual British and Filipino identity and found contentment within it. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Malú Ansaldo
Malú Ansaldo: on leaving Argentina and finding a home from home in Wales. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Onur Acaroğlu
After moving from Turkey to the UK, falling in love gave Onur Acaroğlu a sense of belonging. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Tsering Dolma
The Tibetan Indian-born nurse, Tsering Dolma, came to terms with racist patients in the UK whom she describes as likely suffering from a mental illness. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Sabir Zazai
Sabir Zazai, the Chief Executive of Scottish Refugee Council, describes his exile from Afghanistan, fleeing ‘the cathedral of ruins' of his life. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Emmanuel Gotora
On coming to the UK from Zimbabwe, Emmanuel Gotora was given the advice from an immigration officer: ‘There's a place called Brixton. Don't go there!’ What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Anni Domingo
The actor Anni Domingo, who returned from Sierra Leone to the UK as a teenager, recalls being told at an audition that she was too dark. ‘And that was it,’ says Anni. ‘I never opened my mouth. I never sang. I never danced.’ What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.u
Almir Koldzic
Uprooted from the former Yugoslavia, Almir Koldzic doesn't have a place that he can really call back home. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Adïam Yemane
Adïam Yemane recalls her shock of arrival in Britain and discovering women no longer wore Victorian dresses and garments. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Robin Paine
Robin Paine eventually settled in Edinburgh having experienced the shock of moving from Kenya to London where she felt completely invisible. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Miguel Hernando Torres Umba
‘I will be very critical of this place, always, of empire, of their political history, of the way it behaves towards the rest of the world, but,' says Miguel Hernando Torres Umba, 'I do feel a massive level of appreciation for this place.’ What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at Wri
Sheila Lam
Sheila Lam recalls her first impressions of London: 'It can be a really scary place, and scary things are happen. I'm not blind to that, but my personal day-to-day life has been so wonderful.' What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Tamara Zimet
Tamara Zimet arrived in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic and feared she'd made a terrible mistake. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Ross Fitzsimons
More than forty years after moving to the UK from Ireland, Ross Fitzsimons is still haunted by the plight of the teenager Kevin Barry who was executed by the British government during the Irish War of Independence. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Eric Ngalle Charles
Eric Ngalle Charles recalls how he came to the UK under an assumed identity, and with the passage of time, he has reclaimed his true name. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Colm Tohill
Colm Tohill recalls growing up during a time of violent conflict in Northern Ireland with a mix of stoicism and dark humour. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Joanna Surowiec
Joanna Surowiec found that performing stand-up comedy led her to create a deeper understanding of British culture and a closer connection to people. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Anne Tristine Nguyen
Anne Tristine Nguyen recalls her remarkable journey from a slum in Saigon, Vietnam to a Scottish castle. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Dagmara Rudkin
Dagmara Rudkin recounts how she left Poland as a teenager and was prepared to work all the hours she could to pay for her education. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Abha Sharma
Abha Sharma confides that she is undecided as to whether she would prefer India, the UK, or neither of those as her home. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Steve McCoy
When Steve McCoy moved from Malaysia to the UK as an A-level student in the 1970s, he thought of it as a homecoming. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Andrea Antonieta Schroeder
Andrea Antonieta Schroeder left Chile and moved to the UK with a broken heart to try to forget a man with whom she was in love. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Lynda-Marie Taurasi
Lynda-Marie Taurasi always felt Scottish and, in migrating to Edinburgh from the US, she felt she was fulfilling an ancestral need to return. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Claudia Rivera Echevarría
Claudia Rivera Echevarría on how she sometimes unconsciously dials down her Puerto Rican vitality while living in the UK. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Eve Grubin
Eve Grubin was so affected by the differences she found in the English language when she relocated to London from the US that she wrote a poem about them, 'American in England'. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Yu Yie
YuYie and her challenging transition from Thailand to the highlands of Scotland. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Anouk
Anouk, who was raised in Paris by Jewish parents from Algeria and Tunisia, talks with great affection about her community and recalls that she has felt less scrutinised in London than in Paris. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Anna Blasiak
‘If you ask me whether I feel British and how I identify, I would say I identify as confused,' says Anna Blasiak. 'When I go to Poland, I feel British; when I'm in Britain, I feel Polish.' What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Claudia Lopez-Prieto
Claudia Lopez-Prieto recalls the trauma of leaving Colombia aged eleven and how she tried to recreate her homeland in Croydon. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Daniel Otu Vortiah Ahiankui
Daniel Otu Vortiah Ahiankui, who was born in Spain to Ghanaian parents, recalls a transformation when he arrived in the UK. He was an extrovert who became introverted. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Dulani Kulasinghe
Dulani Kulasinghe, who has experienced double migration after leaving Sri Lanka, registers that 'more open conversations in the UK about racism and empire have led to a massive backlash, maybe the last gasp of the beast'. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Tulela Pea
The Namibian forensic psychologist Tulela Pea turns a critical eye on the credits and deficits of life in the UK. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Nick Makoha
The poet and playwright Nick Makoha recalls his dramatic escape from Idi Amin's reign of terror in Uganda. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Gabriela Raluco Andriesei
Gabriela Raluco Andriesi recalls leaving Romania, finding the freedom to be with her partner in Scotland and joining the police force What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Neethu Sathyanathan
Neethu Sathyanathan reflects on leaving Kerala in India to come to the UK, and taking to the stage, after five years, to try and make English people laugh. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Mira Erdevički
The Yugoslav-born film director Mira Erdevički talks about how she came to the UK by accident and has stayed for thirty years. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Sonia Bell
Sonia Bell describes how early on when she moved to the UK, she hardly ever encountered British people. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Krupa Mehta
Krupa Mehta reflects on leaving Chennai in India, going back briefly where she met the man who became her husband and her decision to return with him for a new life in the UK. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Lisa Munga
Lisa Munga reflects on living in transit and coming to terms with a sense of absence in her life after leaving Cameroon. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Hassan Alia
Hassan Alia remembers the shock of arrival as a refugee from Syria and his dream of becoming a surgeon. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Goran Gocić
The Serbian writer Goran Gocić reflects on his feelings about the UK, similar to those you might have towards 'an old girl friend you don't want to stumble upon'. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Fang Wang
Fang Wang reflecting on leaving China, speaks of her fondness for big-nosed Englishmen and the joy of the crosses on the Hot Cross Bun. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Denisa Gannon
Denisa Gannon reflects on her irrepressible desire to escape prejudice in the Czech republic to become a pioneering Roma lawyer in the UK. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Amanda Vilanova
Amanda Villanova talks about coming from Puerto Rico for a drama course and her decision to stay on and build her life in the UK. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Amaal Said
Amaal Said talks about feeling Somali without ever having been there. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Suzanne Harrington
Suzanne Harrington tells the story of why she had to leave her repressive homeland in Ireland in the 1980s. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Isabelle Dupuy
Isabelle Dupuy, whose family is originally from Haiti, describes why she first resented paying taxes in Britain till an epiphany about the country's social care and social cohesion that was enabled by the National Health Service. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic
Clementine E Burnley
Clementine E Burnley reflects on why she wants her money back from the British romantic novelists she read in her youth in Cameroon. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Snežana Ćurčić
Snežana Ćurčić reflects on leaving Serbia to coming to the UK, and how she has come to admire British culture. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Marjorie Lotfi
Marjorie Lotfi recalls fleeing Iran as a child in 1978 and how she eventually settled in Scotland where she is celebrated for her poetry. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Maria Jastrzębska
Maria Jastrzębska reflects on moving from Poland to the UK as a child in the 1950s. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
Colin Grant
Colin Grant kicks off a new series, an oral history of migration to Britain, What We Leave We Carry. A group of WritersMosaic writers travel around the country recording the stories of migrants pioneering new lives here. What we leave we carry | WritersMosaic is an original audio series by WritersMosaic Magazine from the Royal Literary Fund. Discover more new writing at WritersMosaic.org.uk
