Craig Stone went from living in a park to becoming a published author (Picture: Craig Stone)

A former homeless man has documented his journey from living on the streets to becoming a published author, in a series of tweets.

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Craig Stone wants to highlight the fact that it really could be any of us who ends up on the streets as it’s already happened to him twice.

The 36-year-old is now a published author (with a book he wrote during his second period of homelessness) along with a wife, a kid and a flat.

He wants to raise awareness for the homeless this winter.


After his tweets, we spoke to him about what happened and how people can help others in a similar situation.



Sitting comfortably? Let’s begin.

1/ I'm going to tell a story about how I went from living in a park with a fat beard, to being an author. Here goes... — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

2/ I was working in the city. I was about to hit 30, depressed (I know, what writer isn’t?), single, skint and a tiny bit heartbroken. — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

3/ I moved into a studio flat in Kilburn to escape humans. My Landlord, however, was old, followed me, and wanted to be best friends. — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

4/ He was also a racist bastard – but that’s another story. — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

5/ One of the blue, he put my rent up. I couldn’t afford it. I asked work for a small pay rise, you know, my first one in 4 years. — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

6/ They said no. I asked the council for help, they said talk to my landlord. My landlord said talk to the council. Bastards. — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

Have you ever contested your landlord’s dramatic rent increase and won?

Yeah, didn’t think so.

Anyway, we digress.

7/ I had always harboured a deep delusion that I was destined to become a great writer. So decided to be bold. — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

8/ STUPID. I MEAN STUPID. OR DEPRESSED. (IT’S HARD TO TELL WHICH). — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

9/ I walked out on my job and flat and moved into the local park. I took a pad and a pen. A sleeping bag. A jumper. A bag of coins. — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

Craig sold his Playstation, gave his TV to his mum and took a few bags of clothes into Gladstone Park in Willesden Green, North London.

‘I was only living in a small studio flat, so I didn’t have much,’ he tells Metro.co.uk.

‘I actually took all of my clothes to the park with me, but then realised I had too much stuff to carry.

‘In a twist or irony, I had to put two bags of clothes in the bin where people put clothes that then go on to homeless people.

‘That made me smile.’

Craig’s belongings when he was homeless (Picture: Craig Stone)

Craig’s family knew he was homeless, but like everything in life, the situation wasn’t black and white.

‘Firstly, nobody had the space to take on a 30-year-old hopeless male,’ he says.

‘But secondly, instead of saying, “My life is spiralling out of control, please help me”, I sold it to them (and friends) by saying that I was giving up my life and moving to a park deliberately to write a book that would change my life.

‘So on the surface, although my mum was worried, it seemed like a crazy act underpinned by some sort of logic.’

Bedtime rituals in the park (Picture: Craig Stone)

Craig says that while he was homeless, he felt invisible as people would avoid making eye contact with him, even when their dogs came and pooed right next to him.

But he doesn’t blame anyone.

‘It’s amazing how hopeless people are when faced with something they haven’t been told specifically how to deal with,’ he says.

‘People can’t be blamed for not knowing what to do in an unusual situation.

‘Wouldn’t the world be a beautiful place if in the absence of instruction, we immediately resorted to being lovely and trying to help each other? But look at what our mainstream media swamps us with.

‘People we don’t know we are taught to fear, people who don’t live in a house we are taught are mentally ill and quite likely violent.

‘Stay in your homes, put the TV on, pay your taxes, fear the masses.’

Sleeping rough at night is a scary experience (Picture: Craig Stone)

During the next few weeks, Craig wrote an entire book on his pad of paper – but was terrified that he would lose it or that it would get destroyed in the rain.



This was the push he needed to ask for help.

He called his sister, asking if he could stay at hers and use her computer to write the book up, which he then self-published as an eBook to Kindle.

It got loads of great Amazon reviews, but he still felt hopeless. Until one day, when he received a tweet that would change his life.

22/ But, a girl had read the book. She tweeted me, thinking I was some big shot author. Who was I to break the illusion? — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

23/ Long story short: I dated that girl. I moved in with that girl. I married that girl. I recently had a baby with that girl. — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

24/ I now live in a flat that has a balcony that looks down on a park. And I have a cupboard; so don’t have to hide my clothes in a bush. — Craig Stone (@craigstone_) November 24, 2016

Fast forward a few years and Craig is now living in a flat with his wife Carolyn and seven-month-old son Obie, with his second book, Life Knocks, shortlisted for the Dundee International Book Prize.

But things could have been very different.

‘Giving up my life and moving into the park did change my life for the better, forever,’ he says.

‘But I could have just as easily ended up dead in a bin.’

Craig and his wife Carolyn and son Obie (Picture: Craig Stone)

Craig’s story shows just how easily any of us could end up his situation.

And once you’re in that difficuly, it can often be difficult to get out of it, despite what the ‘why don’t you just get a job’ brigade will have you believe.

‘There aren’t enough homes in the UK, we all know that – so there is not always somewhere to go,’ he says.

‘The situation is getting worse every year.

‘Homeless people can’t just get a job either.

‘For a job, you need to be paid, to be paid you need a bank account, for a bank account you need ID and a home address. Figure that one out.


‘You can’t even get on benefits without a bank account, and you can’t get a bank account without a home address.

‘When you are out of the system, there really is no lighthouse to swim towards.’

Craig on his balcony, which overlooks a park (Picture: Craig Stone)

Craig's advice on how to help homeless people this winter 1. Don’t make assumptions on how they will spend their money ‘It’s a tricky one – because we hear from the experts not to give money because it will only be spent on booze and drugs. But I think if someone asks for money, give it to them. Who are we to judge? ‘If a person has nothing, if a person has nobody to love them, and they want money to go off and get wasted to give them some relief from this all too often cruel existence, then good luck to them.’ 2. Offer clothing ‘Give clothes, scarfs, warm hats.’ 3. Make eye contact ‘It makes the person you are looking at feel alive. It lets them know they have been seen. That they are not invisible. ‘Give a look, hold it and exchange a smile. ‘It doesn’t cost a thing and it makes people feel like they are not on the outside – if only for a moment.’ 4. Give time ‘If you have the time, have a chat. ‘When I was homeless, I hardly spoke. I went days without speaking, it was odd. ‘Looks and conversations are tiny little bridges people can lay out for those less fortunate. ‘They are mini ladders that show the horizon from the cracks people fall into.’

Craig’s story reiterates the point that every single homeless person is just that – a person.

The wonderful thing about life is that we all have a back story and this story doesn’t get erased just because someone has lost their home.

Which is something we probably all need to consider next time we pretend we haven’t got any spare change.

‘I was just outside, both literally and metaphorically,’ Craig says.

‘I don’t think it’s the fault of the people inside. The inside just needs to be bigger.’

You can buy The Squirrel That Dreamt of Madness – the book Craig wrote in the park – on Amazon and in your local book shop.

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