Flashing people can become addictive. No, I don’t go around exposing myself on public transport, but I have always had a tendency towards emotional forms of indecent exposure. Even as recently as this week, my girlfriend sanctioned me with a ‘No heavy talk after 8’ policy, which I’ve already broken 3 times–and I’ll probably do tonight as well, as she finishes work after 9. Having said that, I am also a highly introverted person who borderlines on antisocial. I don’t answer my phone, do lunch with the boys, or even bother to check if someone knocks on my front door. My privacy and personal space are paramount, which probes the question, is publishing a tell-all book about an industry I work in a good idea or not?
Whether it’s bailing up random strangers on a Saturday night as a practising drunk, or completely oversharing to a community hall full of 12-steppers in recovery, my compulsion to reveal has always garnered mixed reactions from innocent bystanders. But when you’ve been muzzled for a large portion of your life, the need to purge feels extreme. Since addiction is a progressive illness, my displays of emotional indecency no longer give me any lasting satisfaction, and I can proudly say that I have finally stopped my emotional flashing. Because with the release of this book, I have now graduated to what I call ‘Emotional streaking’. (I dare you to look).
SMASHED: Tennis prodigies, parents and parasites will be available from January 2025 direct or from your favourite bookseller or library.
