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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Steve Askew as told to Katie Cunningham

The kindness of strangers: In one of my darkest periods, a few compassionate words helped turn my life around

Colourised photo of a man with his arm wrapped around a woman's shoulders
‘A man walked up, put his arm around me and said, “Everything is going to be OK,”’ recalls Steve Askew. Composite: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design/Getty images

My cousin had recently died in a terrible accident and I had been the one who had to identify the body. It was one of the darkest periods of my life, on seemingly every front: I was in the midst of a divorce; it was during the global financial crisis and the company I worked for was badly struggling, making every day feel heavy with uncertainty and stress. Everything was a mess and I was emotionally exhausted.

One morning during rush hour, I stood at the traffic lights waiting to cross on my way to the office. I was lost in my thoughts but must have looked like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, because something unexpected happened.

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