Terry this is FRESH air.
I'm Terry Gross.
I first became aware of Hanif Qureshi when the 1985 film My Beautiful Launderette was released.
He was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay about a side of contemporary England
that had rarely been explored on screen,
Pakistani immigrants and their children.
The film was a lively romantic comedy about gay love, family racism and punk rock.
It was directed by Stephen Frears
and co starred Daniel Day Lewis as a young man
in a relationship with the son of Pakistani immigrant.
Qureshi has since written other screenplays and novels, including the Buddha of Suburbia.
His new memoir called shattered, begins in 2020 after a fall that injured his spinal cord,
leaving him unable to move his arms or legs.
He describes being unrecognizable to himself, disconnected from his body,
totally dependent on others, feeling helpless and humiliated.
He dealing with rage, envying other people who could do even basic things like scratch an itch.
While spending too much time on his back staring at the ceiling,
he reflected on earlier periods of his life.
He shares those reflections in his book.
He spent a year in hospitals before he was able to return home with round the clock caregivers.