I Swear

From the remarkable man whose life inspired the heartstopping film, ‘I Swear’, a book that offers extraordinary insight into what it’s like to live with a severe form of Tourette’s syndrome: a fascinating, complex condition that’s more common than most of us think ( 1 in 100 schoolchildren have the condition) , and yet is chronically misunderstood.

'Funny and heartfelt ... this skilfully told tale deserves praise for how it lets us non-sweary people see inside the ordinary, albeit anxious, mind of someone with Tourette syndrome.' THE TIMES

'An astonishing tale about an amazing man. If this book were given out to schools it would triple the empathy levels.'
- JO JO MOYES, author of Me Before You and Someone Else's Shoes

‘Brave, shocking, funny and moving, I SWEAR opens our eyes to the reality of living with a complex condition. This is a really important book.’
– RACHEL JOYCE, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Homemade God

Born in the 1970s on the Scottish Borders, John’s was ten when his tics first arrived, as if from nowhere. Previously a happy, popular, football-mad boy he was labelled disruptive, rude, and even mad. As his condition progressed, from blinks and jerks to involuntary rude and obscene shouting, John was bullied, rejected - alienated from his family and a society that had no idea what to make of him.

Hospitalized and drugged for months, it was only an extraordinary and transformative friendship, and John’s dogged optimism, that turned his life around, making I Swear an inspirational story of triumph over adversity.

Through John’s eyes, we see Tourette’s not just as a medical condition, but as a lens through which we can all better understand the importance of human connection. And how essential, as well as ultimately rewarding, it can be to keep going and never give up.