Front cover of I Swear by John Davidson, paperback

I Swear : My Life with Tourette's - John Davidson

John Davidson

£11.99
  • Pages · 304 pages
  • Publication Date · 15/01/2026
  • Genre · Memoirs
Collect in store Pick it up free from the shop in Oxford's Covered Market, usually quicker than the post.
Delivery Standard tracked £1.99, free on orders over £20. Express tracked £2.99.
Book Lovers' Happy Hour Three cocktails matched to your taste, three books chosen for you, an hour and a half at the bar. £60 per person. Book a place →

THE MUST-READ MEMOIR BEHIND THE MAJOR BAFTA AWARD-WINNING FILM, I SWEAR, STARRING ROBERT ARAMAYO. From the remarkable Scottish campaigner, this is the powerful and moving autobiography offering extraordinary insight into what it is like to live with a severe form of Tourette's Syndrome. '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. 'An astonishing tale about an amazing man.' - JOJO MOYES, author of Me Before You and Someone Else's Shoes'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.' RACHEL JOYCE, bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Homemade God

Only at Gulp Fiction

Book Lovers' Happy Hour

An hour and a half at the bar, with three cocktails matched to your taste and three books chosen for you. Tell us what you like when you book, and we'll have them waiting when you arrive.

  • 1½ hours
  • £60 per person
  • 3 cocktails, 3 books
Book Happy Hour

Up to four of you can come — book a place each and choose the same time slot, then tell us who you're with. For larger groups, email gulpfictionbooks@gmail.com and we'll arrange it.

Three customers at the window table in Gulp Fiction, cocktails in hand beside a stack of books, with Oxford's Covered Market visible through the glass

Collect in store

Order online and pick it up from the shop. It's free, and usually quicker than the post.

Find us

Units 28–29, Covered Market, Oxford OX1 3DU. Mon–Wed 10–5, Thu–Sat 10–10, Sun 11–4.

Book a table

The bar is open late Thursday to Saturday. Reserve a table for a drink among the books.