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I Swear
- Author
- John Davidson
- Narrator
- David Monteath
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Publish Date
- 21 August 2025
- Run Time
- 7 hours 43 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
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.
Born in the 1970s on the Scottish Borders, John’s was twelve 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.
© John Davidson 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
Critics Review
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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
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Most books have one plot twist, one villain and a happy ending, but this one has generous helpings of each ... Beyond its inevitable shock factor, 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
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An astonishing tale about an amazing man. If this book were given out to schools it would triple the empathy levels for Tourette's.
Jojo Moyes
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This superb book is an engaging and fascinating account of what it's like to live with Tourette's.
Daily Mail
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- John Davidson
- Narrator
- David Monteath
- Duration
- 7 hours 43 minutes
- Release Date
- 21 August 2025
- ISBN
- 9781529962611
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Genre
- Memoirs, Autobiography: science, technology and medicine, Coping with / advice about neurodevelopmental issues or topics, Neurology and clinical neurophysiology
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.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.Born in the 1970s on the Scottish Borders, John’s was twelve 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.© John Davidson 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
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