One-time Brampton MPP and leader of the federal NDP party, Jagmeet Singh, paid a visit to his old political stomping grounds on April 23 to launch his new book.

The memoir, titled Love and Courage: My Story of Family, Resilience, and Overcoming the Unexpected officially hit store shelves and online retailers on April 24.

A large crowd turned out at Chapters in Brampton for the launch and book signing. Singh spoke briefly and answered a few audience questions, but did not take questions from media.

“I had a choice right after I won leadership, when we won leadership together as a team, one of the first things that came up was the idea that normally national leaders write a book and release a book at some point,” Singh said.

“Like we do in politics, we’ve done things really differently, always. So, I thought what can I do different that has a meaning and can actually help people out?” he added.

Singh tackles some very personal issues in the book, sharing his family’s struggles with addiction, being the target of racism from a young age, as well as detailing sexual abuse at the hands of martial arts instructor while he was still a boy.

“One (thing) no one ever told me — because I didn’t talk to anyone about it for a decade — I didn’t speak to another human being about it. And no one ever told me it wasn’t my fault,” said Singh while talking about his motivation for publicly sharing and talking about such personal and family struggles.

“So, I hope if I can say anything to people who’ve gone through something similar: ‘It’s not your fault.’”

Singh served as an MPP under the provincial NDP party in the now-dissolved Brampton/Mississauga riding of Bramalea-Gore-Malton between 2011 and his jump to federal politics in October 2017.

He won a byelection in the B.C. riding of Burnaby South at the end of February to finally earn a seat on Parliament Hill more than a year after his election as party leader.