I Swear: My Life with Tourette’s

From the remarkable man whose life inspired the heart-stopping 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.

The funny and moving autobiography offering extraordinary insight into what it is like to live with a severe form of Tourette's Syndrome. From the award-winning Scottish campaigner. NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING ROBERT ARAMAYO AND MAXINE PEAKE. 'An astonishing tale about an amazing man.'- 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 syndrome.' THE TIMESBorn 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. '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 ... This is a really important book.'

• | Author: John Davidson
• | Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
• | Publication Date: Jan 15, 2026
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781804997703
• | ISBN-10: 1804997706