Might Bite

Author Patrick Foster with Will Macpherson
Narrator Ben Higgins
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
Run Time 7 hours and 51 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Addiction and therapy, Autobiography: sport, Biography and non-fiction prose, Computing and Information Technology, Coping with addiction, Cricket, Family and health, Gambling: theories and methods, Health, illness and addiction: social aspects, Internet gambling, Memoirs, Society and Social Sciences, Sports and Active outdoor recreation.

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What to expect

'An electrifying account of gambling addiction ... compelling' - The Times

'Searingly honest ... should be in the hands of anyone who has eyed a bet' - Daily Mail

'A remarkable piece of work' - The Cricketer

With a foreword by Marcus Trescothick.

For more than 12 years, Patrick Foster lived a double life. Turning 31, a popular and sociable young teacher and former professional cricketer, he had a lovely girlfriend and a supportive family. But he was hiding a secret and debilitating gambling addiction from even those closest to him.

Huge bets had led to huge debts, thousands of lies, and consequences for his mental health that pushed him to the edge of the platform at Slough station, where he was moments from taking his own life in March 2018.

That month Patrick had turned a £30 bet into £28,000, then lost £50,000 on a single horse, Might Bite, in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, watching the race in a silent classroom as his students undertook a mock exam in front of him. In his desperation, he had taken out every possible loan, and borrowed money from family, friends and even the parents of children he taught. Although his life was unravelling around him, he could not stop.

You might think that this is just one man’s story. But problem gambling affects one in 200 people in the UK alone. Hundreds lose their lives annually as a result. The industry is worth more than £14 billion.

Might Bite is a shocking, cautionary tale of just how easy it is to fall victim to the insidious lure of ‘winning big’. And of how recovery is possible from the depths of addiction, no matter how inescapable it seems.

Critics Review

Powerful … electrifying … compelling … challenges deep-seated class assumptions about gambling … [which is] still regarded as a problem for poor people, for losers. You only have to read Foster’s unflinching account of entitlement, self-hatred and degradation to know that is the biggest lie of all.
The Times
[A] mesmerising, superbly written story of despair, decline and redemption … Searingly honest … compelling … should be in the hands of anyone who has eyed a bet
Daily Mail
I don’t think any book has gripped me like Might Bite.
Chris Evans
Gripping and harrowing … enough to make any gambling enthusiast think carefully.
The Spectator
Reading of Foster’s descent is itself compulsive
The i
An extraordinary story … vital stuff
BBC Radio 5 Live
An in-depth testimony … show[s] how anybody can fall prey to gambling addiction.
Daily Telegraph
A powerful story that I know only too well – a no-holds barred journey through gambling addiction and into the hope of recovery.
Paul Merson
A well written, ruthlessly honest account of gambling addiction
Jimmy McGovern
As a society, we are only just getting to grips with gambling addiction. Patrick Foster is a trailblazer. His work will help many.
Marcus Trescothick
A shocking insight into life with gambling addiction and proof that these issues really don’t discriminate.
Tom Curry, England rugby player
Foster’s compelling account of a once charmed life careering on a downward spiral proves [gambling addiction] can affect anyone.
Bristol Post
A must read journey through gambling addiction and out the other side – ultimately uplifting.
Charlotte Edwards CBE, ex-professional cricketer and England captain
This story will stop you in your tracks.
Sam Billings, England cricketer
Might Bite is beautifully written
TalkSport
A powerful read and a hell of a story
TalkSport
A remarkable piece of work
The Cricketer
You should all read Might Bite…a brutally candid, must-read memoir co-written with Will Macpherson, the Evening Standard cricket correspondent that ought to transcend the world of elite sport.
The Cricketer
A brilliant memoir which exposes the scale of this addiction
The Bookseller
Astonishing…Might Bite is a harrowing tale of the final moments of a gambler’s descent to near destruction, but it’s a tale that demands to be told.
Racing Post
A must – electrifying confessions of a high-achieving public schoolboy who destroyed himself with a secret betting addiction
The Times

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