I Swear My Life With Tourettes – John Davidson (1)

I was a constantly curious boy, and impatient, always itching to know stuff and look at stuff and asking ‘Why?’ all the time, ‘What about that? How does that work?’ As soon as Mum left, I kept going to the kitchen window, looking out at the washing blowing in the wind. Was it maybe dry already? Should I go out and check? I just wanted to help. I always wanted to help. If I brought the washing in, it would balance things out, offset some of the daily upset and turmoil I created, and then Mum would be happy and proud of me.

So my stupid action came from a good place, though I appreciate that, in the carnage that followed, the ‘good place’ part was easy to overlook completely, especially when dealing with a blood-splattered, dying rabbit in your hallway. I meant no harm. I never do. I wasn’t thinking. There are times when I overthink, and times when all rational thoughts seem to vacate my head, and this was one of those times. I went out to check the washing – of course, I couldn’t help myself – and the next thing I heard was Floss growling and snarling.

When I turned around, my stomach dropped, because she had poor, helpless little Snowy in her mouth. Panic made me act fast. I grabbed the rabbit and shoved Floss into the kitchen in seconds, then I sat down in the hallway and cradled Snowy in my arms.

She was still alive but there were spots of blood all over her lovely, pure white fur. As I stared down at her, feeling her helpless, warm little body in my arms, the enormity of my massive fucking cock-up hit me, and I cried and cried. Mum told me not to. Mum told me not to, I kept thinking, and now look, now look what I’ve gone and done.

A sudden loud banging on our front door made me jump.

John Davidson MBE was born in 1971 in Galashiels. After leaving school without qualifications, he began work as a caretaker at Langlee Community Centre in Galashiels, where since 2002 he has also been a part-time youth worker. Aged sixteen, John was the subject of a BBC documentary, John’s Not Mad, about living with Tourette’s syndrome, and he has since been an ambassador for the condition, giving talks and workshops in schools and to the police, and running residential camps for young people with Tourette’s.

Since 1989 he has featured in several follow-up documentaries; Kirk Jones’s 2025 film I Swear is based on John’s life. In 2019 John joined the board of Tourette Scotland and was awarded an MBE in recognition of ‘his efforts to increase understanding of the condition and helping families deal with it across the country’. He has also gained international recognition for his online support for families all over the world. OceanofPDF.com Praise for I Swear ‘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, author of Me Before You and Someone Else’s Shoes ‘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’s Syndrome.’ THE TIMES ‘This superb book is an engaging and fascinating account of what it’s like to live with Tourette’s.’ DAILY MAIL ‘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 Homemade God Praise for the motion picture ‘The most inspirational British movie of the year.’ ROLLING STONE UK ‘An astounding feel-good film.’ THE TIMES www.penguin.co.uk OceanofPDF.com John Davidson I SWEAR My Life With Tourette’s as told to Abbie Ross OceanofPDF.com In memory of Tommy Trotter 1 January 1955 – 3 June 2019 OceanofPDF.com John with his dog, Suki, and with Abbie Ross.

OceanofPDF.com ‘Hope is optimism with a broken heart.’

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 7a93d5b7ffb6ef2a
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 8,613,748 bytes (8.215 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 267
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 405.81 minutes
• Total Words: 81,163
• Total Characters: 423,496
• Average Words per Page: 303.98
• Average Characters per Page: 1586.13

Most Frequent Words

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