John Davidson
Doubleday published I SWEAR: My Life with Tourette’s by John Davidson in hardback on 21 August 2025.
Born in the 1970s on the Scottish Borders, John was ten when his first tics 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 or obscene shouting, John was bullied and 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.
John Davidson’s life inspired the heart-stopping film I SWEAR, to be released in the UK on 10 October 2025 starring Robert Aramayo, Shirley Henderson, Maxine Peake and Peter Mullan.
Praise for I SWEAR:
“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 for Tourette’s.” 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