Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs
Published on 3. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-83885-811-7 (ISBN)
Description
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'Brutally honest as well as poetic' DOLLY ALDERTON
'Necessary, urgent and totally original' AFUA HIRSCH
'Intimately life-affirming . . . tackles enormously complex questions' CALEB FEMI
Someone once asked me how I'd want to be remembered.
I said, 'As the boy who grew.'
Diagnosed with ADHD as a child, Jordan Stephens found his teens and twenties to be a whirl of career success and nurturing friendships but also a brutal pattern of self-harm, hedonism, destructive coping mechanisms and heartbreak. When he tried to live up to his own damaged expectations and his world exploded, he allowed himself to explore the pain he'd repressed his entire life.
Unsparingly digging into the fear, tenderness and trauma, Jordan Stephens discovers what it means to be a modern man and how the price we pay for love, in all its forms, is worth it.
'Brutally honest as well as poetic' DOLLY ALDERTON
'Necessary, urgent and totally original' AFUA HIRSCH
'Intimately life-affirming . . . tackles enormously complex questions' CALEB FEMI
Someone once asked me how I'd want to be remembered.
I said, 'As the boy who grew.'
Diagnosed with ADHD as a child, Jordan Stephens found his teens and twenties to be a whirl of career success and nurturing friendships but also a brutal pattern of self-harm, hedonism, destructive coping mechanisms and heartbreak. When he tried to live up to his own damaged expectations and his world exploded, he allowed himself to explore the pain he'd repressed his entire life.
Unsparingly digging into the fear, tenderness and trauma, Jordan Stephens discovers what it means to be a modern man and how the price we pay for love, in all its forms, is worth it.
Reviews / Votes
Necessary, urgent and totally original -- AFUA HIRSCH Brutally honest as well as poetic -- DOLLY ALDERTON * * Guardian * * Intimately life-affirming . . . tackles enormously complex questions -- CALEB FEMI Deeply personal * * Observer * * Raw, funny, honest and neurodiverting -- MATT HAIG Energetic and unguarded -- COLIN GRANT * * Guardian, Book of the Day * * Funny, shocking and downright fucked-up at times, it's like Jordan crawled into my brain and took notes. If you've ever had to overcome something in your life, this book is a must-read. Seriously, don't miss it! -- ASHLEY WALTERS Impressively candid . . . A compelling insight into what it is like to be both an artist, and a heterosexual male, in the twenty-first century * * i * * Beautifully written, lyrical, visceral, staccato, cathartic. Feels like late night deep chats and confessions with an old friend. I loved it -- JESSIE MEI LI Jordan Stephens shares his life as a kaleidoscope adventure in full ADHD colour with immaculately told stories. What a glorious book, and what a journey -- KAT BROWNMore details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
192 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83885-811-7 (9781838858117)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jordan Stephens is a writer and performer, best known as one half of the chart-topping duo Rizzle Kicks, who sold over a million records. Having been publicly open with his own struggles surrounding mental health, Jordan has been very active in creating awareness around the stigma. His mental health campaign #IAMWHOLE reached over 120 million people online and was mentioned in the Houses of Parliament. His children's book The Missing Piece was recently shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Prize.
@jordanfstephens
@jordanfstephens